A Girl & Her God--A God & His Girl
by xXBlack'BladeXx
Summary: She's a girl from Midgard, he's a god from Asgard, and together they make up one strange, little family. It's not always easy and nothing's ever really normal, but they never expected it to be. And as long as they're together, it's all good! Short stories and one-shots; Loki & OC (no romance); main story to come later-for now, enjoy these tasty, little tidbits!
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hello, beautiful readers, old and new! Just a little 4-1-1 before you dive into this thing; I highly suggest you read before you continue on so that you're not so confused. I, of course, will try and answer any questions you have, but for the basic ground work, I suggest you stop here and check out this author's note. That's what it's here for after all!

The first and most important thing you need to know about this fiction is that it is not a cohesive, put-together, plot driven story; it is just a bunch of little one shots and short stories involving mainly Loki and my OC Brynn Hagel. (There will be some other characters too, but mainly it's centered around these two.) This is not an origin story of how they met and came to have the relationship that they do—I am currently planning that story and working on it bit by bit, but that won't come along until later. (Be on the lookout! Title: 'The Insufferable Brat & the Crazy Bastard who Thinks He's a God')

In the meantime, until that fateful day arrives, I've decided to introduce you to the characters and my writing in this format. It's a very strange way for me to do this; usually I have an actual story of how "this is how it all happened" out before I start doing little things like this. But, unfortunately, since dreaming up this idea and relationship, I've been having plot bunnies breeding in my head and making it kind of hard to concentrate on some other things, so, in order to alleviate that problem, I'm resorting to this little collection of vignettes. I don't know how often this will be updated. I also don't have a specific chronological order planned out for them to go in. In this first story, Brynn is sixteen, in the next she could be 21 or 18 or 16 again or, hell, maybe even 40 with a husband and kids—I don't know! It's plot bunnies as they hit me that cover different parts and events of the relationships between characters. The next one could even not have Loki and Brynn! … Okay, no, the next one probably **_will_** have Loki and Brynn—I imagine most of them will have those two. But I make no guarantees about anything. Except that Brynn probably won't be ever be 15 in any of these shorts. We'll cover that year when the actual story happens, so some stuff that you see here will be explained in the origin story later on. (For example, exactly why Loki's nickname for Brynn is 'Princess'—there's more of a meaning behind than you think.)

Some short stories may also be somewhat AU from the cannon I'm using/making for the origin story and that universe. (For example, there could be a short story about Loki finding Brynn as a baby and seeing how that plays out—that would be **_very_** AU from my cannon.) I imagine **_most_** of these scenarios will be aligned my cannon, but some might not be. If that's the case, I will let you know which ones don't keep with cannon.

And what is my cannon here and the universe it goes with? That goes along more with the big story itself, but I'll explain the basics here. The main story itself will take place after _Dark World_ and will pretty much diverge from the MCU there. Loki actually died in DW but was brought back to life for reasons I won't name yet (some stuff has to be kept secret) and found himself stuck on Midgard. (As such, Odin remained king of Asgard, Thor returned to earth to the Avengers and Jane.) Loki's and Brynn's paths cross, they slowly grow close, and events lead to Loki becoming Brynn's guardian. Their relationship is strictly brother-sister/parent-child—no romance at all, never will be. As of right now, going into this first oneshot, that's pretty much all you need to know. If more stuff comes up in other oneshots that needs some background info., I will have that at the beginning of that "chapter".

Also, if anyone has an idea for a oneshot that they'd like to see, feel free to leave it in the comments. Ya never know, I just might like and use it. ;)

Get it? Got it? Good. On with the fun!

(*sighs* I hope at least a little of this makes sense—I feel like I'm not explaining this well….)


	2. Dude Looks like a Lady

Dude Looks like a Lady

Theme song: _Dude (Looks Like a Lady)_ ~ Aerosmith

Characters: Loki & OCs

Rating: T (language… and mentions of 'Twilight'—reader discretion advised because of the latter)

Genre: Humor and family

Summary: A short tale involving denim shorts, a crop top, a mortified teenaged girl, and a chaos god that doesn't give a shit.

* * *

Being over a millennium old, Loki had had many experiences both good and bad. Finding out he was a Frost Giant; ruling over Asgard for a brief time; attempting to take over Earth and being imprisoned for it; helping Thor avenge the death of their mother and protect the woman he loved and being killed in the process; being brought back to life—just a few of the highlights. But none of these or any other past experiences could ever have come close to those that came along with being the guardian of a sixteen-year-old Midgardian female that he now found himself encountering on a daily basis. No, such a lifestyle—as well as his charge, Brynn—was proving quite the education.

One of the most recent experiences had centered around the seemingly mundane concept of laundry. Aside from the fact that, until the last year and half on Earth, Loki had never done laundry in his life (that's what servants were for and what being a prince granted you); Loki had never realized how much of a hassle the chore was. First there was the sorting: whites and colors had to be separated; denims and heavier fabrics were best sorted into their own piles rather than clumped together with everything else; delicates needed a pile of their own as well. Then there was the washing; whites used hot water, everything else could be cold or warm water; delicates should often be handled by the instructions on the tag and this often meant hand-washing; heavily soiled clothing shouldn't just be thrown in the washer—it had to have a little extra care in order to get them effectively clean and avoid unsightly stains; you had to adjust the size of the loads so that there'd be enough water in the machine to actually get the clothes clean; and **_always_** remember to put the soap in or else you're just rinsing the clothes and you might as well just use a hose if that's the idea.

The drying process was much easier, though sometimes you had to make a judgement call on whether to use the dryer or the clothes line outside. (On at least a couple occasions the weather forecast had gone unnoticed and Brynn and Loki had ended up outside racing the storm clouds in an effort to get the half-dry laundry off the line before it got soaked again.)

But if sorting through dirty clothes was the most unpleasant part of the laundry process, the most boring process, by far, was the folding. Not only was it tedious to fold the clothing, it was also tedious to once again sort through the clothes so the right person ended up with the right garments. It was also somewhat awkward. Neither of them enjoyed handling each other's underthings, nor the idea of the other handling them.

In part, that was a main reason for the decision for them to each do their own laundry. They were both more than capable of this by now (though sometimes Loki did still ask Brynn for help if he was unsure or something slipped his mind), and it was much easier to keep track of what belonged to who and made them far more comfortable. But, once in a while, something occurred that would lead to someone's clothes ending up in the wash with someone else's. Such a case was what led to Loki's most recent experience with Brynn.

It had started off innocently enough. Loki had just thrown a load if his shirts into the washing machine when Brynn had arrived home from school and walked through the back door soaked and muddy….

 _"What happened to you?" Loki chuckled, arms crossed as he leaned against the door post. He looked the sixteen-year-old up and down._

 _Brynn scowled at him, lips curled into a snarl and a slight growl rumbling out of her chest. She was_ **not** _in the mood for his teasing. "Slipped and fell on my ass in the mud walking up the driveway," she grumbled. "About_ **half a dozen times** _! Seriously, we need to get some rock put down that thing or else someone's gonna end up breaking their leg after a rainstorm, and it'll probably be_ **me** _!" The teen angrily dropped her mud-splattered book bag to the mudroom floor, tossed her sandals (which she'd been carrying) to the side, and kicked off her dirty rain boots. Afterward she eyed the bag a bit dolefully. "You can magic this clean right?" she asked, looking at her guardian with hopeful, blue-gray eyes._

 _The raven-haired god looked over the bag with pursed lips, taking in the damage, before finally nodding affirmatively. "I can do something about that," he assured her with a smirk. "I am a master sorcerer after all."_

 _Brynn smiled, looking rather relieved. "Good! 'Cuz I think the books inside are wet too."_

 _The Asgardian's brilliant green eyes suddenly widened in mock alarm and he splayed his hands across his chest with a dramatic gasp. "Odin forbid! We mustn't allow such tragedy to befall such remarkable tomes of knowledge!" Loki found what Brynn's school so laughably referred to as "educational reading material" was really anything but educational and the most mind-numbingly dull works of text he'd ever come across in his life. At least most of them. Her science book could be fairly interesting from time to time. As could her literature one._

 _The girl gave him a hard look, albeit a playful one. "Well, if you wanna pay for the damage done to school text-books fine then, go ahead. They're all pretty much falling apart anyway, they're so old." Then she grew serious as she added, "But seriously, at least save my reading book—it's Maddie's and she'll kill me if I ruin it."_

 _Loki rolled his eyes at the mention of the dreaded book. "Ruining that monstrosity would only be an act of mercy for the world," he remarked dryly. He shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you ever agree to read something so…"_

 _"Moronic and gross?" Brynn finished for him with a flat look. "'Cuz Maddie got sick of me ragging on 'Twilight' when I'd only ever seen the movies and never read the books. She only agreed to let me keep doing it until after I'd read the books too. If I wanted to, that is."_

 _"And do you?"_

 _There wasn't even a moment's hesitation, just an insistent, "Yes."_

 _The god snorted. "Very well," he sighed, "I will see that the sparkly vampires are saved along with everything else." He then looked Brynn over again. The girl certainly must have taken a tumble. Her curly blonde hair, which had been braided down her back when she'd left for school that morning, was coming undone and sticking out in odd angles with mud and rainwater: In fact, she almost looked brunette now! Her arms and legs were caked with mud, and her face looked like it had been covered in a mud-mask that she'd haphazardly wiped off. Brynn very much looked like something from a horror story that had just crawled out of a muddy bog. "Would you like for me to do the same with you, or are you planning on joining a colony of swamp monsters?" he teased._

 _Brynn gave him another scowl. "Ha, ha, you're a riot, Loks." Then she looked herself over and shook her head with a heavy sigh. "No, don't worry about me," she answered his previous question. "This stuff needs to be washed anyway." The teen flapped her vest in reference. "It's been tainted with Nina's godawful, cotton-candy scented pew-fume." She met Loki's gaze again, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she added, "And, unfortunately, the same goes for me."_

 _The God of Mischief nodded. "Very well," he sighed, moving towards her. "I already have some of my clothes washing, but you can go ahead and add your things to it—we'll sort them out later. No, no kiss now!" he exclaimed. Brynn had been going up on tip-toe to administer her usual 'hello' kiss to his cheek, but Loki put up a hand to hold her off. "I have no desire to be muddied up with you. It can wait until_ **after** _you've cleaned up." With that the man made a slight wave of his hand. "There should be a towel waiting for you on the counter of the laundry room now," he commented as Brynn began to make her way to the door that led to said room. "You be sure to towel off as much mud as you can in the laundry room and wrap your hair up before going up to shower," he instructed warningly. "I don't want muddy tracks leading all over the house."_

 _Brynn snorted. "Whatever you say,_ **Mom** _."_

 _"Hmm. And here I thought you were going to_ **insult** _me."_

 _Smiling, Brynn rolled her eyes and opened the laundry room door. She was about to go inside when she stopped and looked back over her shoulder to see that Loki had picked up her bag and was inspecting it and its contents a bit more closely. He was distracted—excellent! Pivoting around, the girl lunged at the tall, lanky man and, before he could react, tackled him in big, muddy, wet, full-body hug, almost knocking him over. She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Mmmwah! Loveya,bigbrother,you'rethegreatest—thanks!" As quickly as she'd embraced him she released him and barreled back towards the door, grinning smugly._

 _Recovering from the shock of the ambush, Loki whipped around with a glare. "_ **Brynna May Hagel** _!" he barked. But Brynn had already disappeared through the door; the god could hear her giggling with triumphant glee in the laundry room on the other side. That caused his scowl to quickly melt away into a soft smile, and he shook his head with a chuckle. Ah, Brynn…. She was an infuriating, little Machiavellian, that one. But she was_ **his** _infuriating, little Machiavellian, and the trickster god couldn't be happier or more proud._

 _With a sigh, Loki looked himself over to assess the damage his little troublemaker had done to him. "Well, it would appear I'll have to magic_ **myself** _clean as well now. Thank you so_ **very** _much, Princess." Then he caught a whiff of strong cotton-candy scent. Nose wrinkling in disgust just as Brynn's had, the man curled his lip and groaned, "'Pew-fume' indeed."_

And that's where it had started: Brynn—under his suggestion—had thrown her soiled garments in with his because it was simply the most sensible and convenient thing to do. She'd promised to come and get them later and fold them herself. Great, wonderful—no big deal, Loki hadn't cared; they were just clothes after all and he could handle folding a few of her things once in a while just as she could in reverse. But since she **_had_** said she would deal with them later herself, Loki had taken her at her word and left it at that. So when the load had finished the cycle and he'd put it all in a basket and brought it back up to his room in order to put things away, the man had let Brynn know that her clothes were ready for retrieval.

That had been four weeks ago. **_An entire month_**. The clothes—a pair of high-waisted shorts, a graphic crop top, and a denim vest—were still lying in the clothes' basket, waiting to be folded and put away. And they weren't even **_in_** his room anymore; the basket was sitting out in the hall beside his bedroom door which Brynn had to walk by in order to get to and from her own bedroom. So it wasn't as though she didn't see them there and was able to forget about them. But the clothes were still there. The teen hadn't even so much as pulled the vest out of it to wear it again—she just left them all there unnoticed.

Loki had finally taken to reminding his charge about them and suggesting she put them away. It was only a few articles after all; it would take no time at all. And every time he had, Brynn had nodded her head and waved a dismissive hand, declaring that she would "get to it later" and that she had "something else on her mind at the moment". On some occasions she had: there had been a science project that had taken both her and Loki all night to complete; then there had been the assignment for literature in which she'd had to rewrite the American Constitution in her own words; then there had been the practice PSAT tests that the school's guidance counselor had sent home a few times because, apparently, "it was never too soon to start getting ready". But as many times as there had been something else to occupy her time, there had been even more moments when Brynn could have turned attention to her clothes and put them away. After all, once again, it was only **_three articles of clothing_**. But she hadn't.

Now, it was true that Loki could have taken it upon himself to fold her clothes and put them away for Brynn, or even just toss them into her room on her bed. Again, it was only a few garments and all of them, thankfully, were of the outerwear variety. And, admittedly, the god had considered it. Hel, he wouldn't have even had to do it by hand—he could have just magicked them to reappear in their appropriate places folded/hung up and ready to go for the next time. But the simplicity of the task wasn't really the point. The point was that Brynn had stated, for a fact, that she would take care of and put her clothes away herself. She'd promised to. And so far she wasn't holding to it.

While it might have seemed hypocritical for he, Loki, a literal trickster god, to make a thing about his charge not holding to her word, but in truth, promises were something Loki took quite seriously. Especially where the people he cared most about were concerned. So the fact that Brynn, someone he indeed cared very deeply for, was not sticking to something she'd sworn to do, did not sit well with him on both a personal and moral level. There was also the simple fact of the god finding this dismissive, lazy, irresponsible behavior of hers rather irksome and was doing his best to break her of it. After all, he was her main parental figure now; it was his job to help her grow into a responsible, well-rounded, well-adjusted adult.

It was because of all these participating factors that Loki finally decided it was time to teach Brynn a little lesson about responsibility and keeping her word. It wouldn't be anything too drastic, just something to get the message across. And while simple communication usually did prove to be an excellent teaching tool, with some people it just didn't have an effective enough impact. Unfortunately, Brynn could be one of those people. And also unfortunately (at least for Brynn) Loki was the type of teacher that, when presented with an opportunity where he could either teach a lesson via communication or in a more active way, he tended to choose the more active way. Especially when the more active way allowed him to have a bit of fun. After all, his title wasn't 'God of Mischief' for nothing!

* * *

"Look, I'm not saying the movie is gonna be bad," Devon declared with all sincerity. "All I'm saying is that these people are **_idiots_**! I mean, seriously, this is the same universe where the original Jurassic Park happened—and we all know how well that turned out—but we **_still_** think it's a great idea to go and make another one after **_everything_** that happened before? "Oh, we can control the dinosaurs this time around!" I think the first park proved that you **_can't_** control the dinos!"

"That and they've genetically engineered a totally new dinosaur that's never existed before," Sean added. "Because that's **_such_** a great idea."

"Exactly!" Devon exclaimed, clapping his buddy on the shoulder. "Thank you!"

"No problem, bud."

It was balmy, summer night, and Brynn and her group of friends—Devon McCredie siblings Sean and Madilyn Asher, and Caitlyn Willis—we all gathered out by the pickup. They had plans to attend the local theater that evening for the premier of _Jurassic World_. Being _Jurassic Park_ fans, the group had made plans to see the movie all the way back after the first trailer had dropped. Now it was here, and they were not about to miss it.

Brynn smirked as she remarked, "Well, we can't be **_too_** hard on their decision making, can we?" She exchanged a significant look with Maddie and Caitlyn that only teenaged girls can share with each other. "I mean, it's giving us Chris Pratt, right? Who can say that's a bad thing?"

Maddie and Caitlyn enthusiastically murmured their agreement.

"Oh, please," Devon snorted, rolling his eyes. "You guys just like him 'cuz you like how his ass looks in the trailer."

"Also because he's sweet, funny, handsome, charming," Maddie added.

"He wears a shirt that shows off just a **_little_** bit of chest," Brynn continued.

"And he's got **_gorgeous_** blue eyes," Caitlyn sighed. "I love blue eyes…."

At that statement, a funny look came over Sean's face and he looked down at Caitlyn, whom he had an arm wrapped around. "Y-you love blue eyes?" he stuttered rather meekly. He looked more than a little put out by this.

Smiling warmly and reassuringly back up at him, Caitlyn reached up and caressed his cheek. She gazed at him adoringly. "Not half as much as I love brown, baby," she soothed him.

With that Sean smiled back before turning his face into her hand and gently kissing her palm.

The rest of the group groaned, Maddie adding in an extra gag.

"Ugh, get a room, guys!" Brynn sniggered.

"I thought we agreed no PDA in the group," Devon teased at the same time.

"I knew it was a bad idea for my brother and one of my best friends to start dating," Maddie lamented. She, as opposed to the other two, seemed like she was only half-joking. And maybe she was: Madilyn had yet to get used to the fact that her big brother and best friend since preschool were a serious item. It was very strange, especially since Caitlyn and Sean used to bully each other all through elementary and middle school. And, even more especially, just because—again— ** _it was her brother and one of her best friends_**.

"Shut up!" Sean and Caitlyn shot back, playfully glaring at their pals.

Snickering, Devon looked down at his watch. "6:30," he informed everyone as he looked up again. "We need to get there by at least 7:15 if we want our good seats. I asked my cousin to try and save 'em for as long as he can, but if we don't get going soon…" he trailed off as everyone would know what he meant.

All gazes suddenly turned to Brynn.

Noticing this, the sixteen-year-old rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "He **_knows_** the timeline, guys," she assured them. "He'll get us there on time. … He might frickin' NASCAR drive the whole way, but he'll get us there—so relax."

Loki was their designated chaperone for the movie that night. Usually the kids would have just gone themselves but as Devon's car was in the shop, Sean's new car was only big enough for two people (specifically himself and Caitlyn), and the only one of the girls who had their license yet was Maddie and she'd gotten in revoked after dinging up her car for the fourth time in a month, they were left virtually transportation-less without an adult. That and, plus, their parents seemed to have this idea that they all still needed to be chaperoned around even though they were all in high school and had proven in the past they were smart enough to not get themselves into stupid situations. So, because of that, Loki had become the default chaperone. Of all their caretakers, he was definitely the one that was the coolest: He generally stayed out of their business and gave them their space. And, apart from that, he was a literal Asgardian god and a master sorcerer! How epic was that?!

"Well, what's taking him so long?" Caitlyn asked of the man in question. "I mean, god or not, he's a guy; how long can it possibly take for him to get ready?"

Brynn gave her friend a flat look. "You **_clearly_** do not know Loki," she stated. "Seriously, if you guys think ** _I_** can be bad when I get ready to go out, you are all in for a rude awakening."

There was the familiar sound of the front door of the Hagel farmhouse opening and closing.

Devon, who was facing the house directly as he leaned against the side of the vehicle, lifted his gaze up the slight incline to the house. Almost immediately, and rather violently, he averted his gaze, covering his eyes as if they'd just been burnt. "Ohgod,myeyes!" he howled. " ** _My eyes!_** "

The rest of the group gave him alarmed looks before turning to see what he was reacting to. A chorus of horrified, earsplitting, inhuman screeches rang out through the otherwise quiet evening, one, in particular, quite a bit louder and more horrified sounding than the others.

Looking utterly mortified, Brynn sprinted up the sidewalk towards the cause of their reactions. "Loki!" She skidded to a stop in front of the Asgardian and held her arms out as wide as she could on either side, as she would if she were trying to head an animal off from a direction she didn't want. Apparently the girl thought this would work on Loki as well. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she wailed.

Stopping in his tracks, the green-eyed man fixed her in a gallingly innocent stare, even going so far as to tilt his head to the side like a confused puppy. "What do you mean?" he questioned with just as much innocence. "I'm ready to take you all to the movie."

White as a sheet, except for her face, which was turning a brilliant color of reddish-pink due to her embarrassment and exasperation, Brynn fixed the trickster with a heated glare. "That's not what I mean and you know it!" she hissed.

Raising an eyebrow, Loki crossed his arms over his chest and released a patient sigh. The action only caused Brynn's ire to rise even more. "Brynn," he addressed her calmly, "if you want me to understand what you mean, you're going to have to speak more clearly." While his face remained placid and serene, the god was smirking a mile-wide and snickering devilishly inside. This was almost too much fun!

Knowing full well his cool and collected demeanor did not match what was really going on inside that twisted, raven-haired head of his and becoming even more flustered by it, Brynn clenched her hands into fists. Oh, she wanted to hit him! She hadn't wanted to hit him this badly since the point at the beginning of their relationship when they'd hated each other! She could do it! If she really wanted to, she could do it, and, **_boy_** , she really, **_really_** wanted to! But that wouldn't get her what she wanted. Nothing except keeping her cool and playing along with Loki's game—whatever the hell that was—would get her what she wanted. And that was a tall order to deal with: What she wanted as directly tied to what was making her want to hit him. And knowing Loki, he was going to drag this out for as long as he could to make her suffer with her humiliation all the more. He was sadistic like that.

So, setting her jaw, Brynn enunciated, very slowly, through teeth clenched so tightly they might shatter, "What. The hell. Are. You. **_Wearing?_** "

For you see, this is why Brynn was so cross with Loki that she wanted to hit him, why she was so mortified that she might keel over and die: **_he was wearing her clothes_**. Yes, that's right, the lanky, 6'2, 206 pound, full-grown Asgaridan God of Mischief had managed to stuff himself into clothes that were meant for a 5'5, 130 pound, teenaged girl of average build. And it looked about as terrifyingly hideous as you could imagine.

Brynn's insides squirmed uncomfortably as she looked him over. He had to have magicked this stuff in order to even get it on, but even then it all still fit him poorly: her high-waisted shorts rode nauseatingly high up on his legs and hips, so much so that the bottoms of buttocks were exposed ( ** _not_** a good look for guys!); her crop top clung to him almost like it was another layer of skin and stretched across his chest so tightly that it distorted the Wonder Woman graphic so much she looked obese; and her vest… it fit so tightly across his broad shoulders that it crinkled and stuck out in a strange way at the bottom where it should have hung loose. It all just added up to one massive nightmare.

Looking as though he had no idea what she was talking about, Loki looked down at his attire before meeting Brynn's gaze again. "I'm wearing clothes," he answered simply. That would only help to irk off the teen off more.

Brynn felt a new flame of irritation flare up inside her at that answer. Oh, he was so gonna get it! (If she didn't die of embarrassment first.) " ** _No_** ," she corrected, trying to keep her voice even. "You're wearing **_my_** clothes—there's a **_big_** difference."

Loki's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed as if he'd just heard something fishy and wasn't sure whether he'd believed it or not. " ** _No_** ," he shook his head, "these are **_my_** clothes."

Brynn gawped at him in bewilderment at that. **_His_** clothes?! What?! Had the God of Mischief finally gone insane?! "What are you talking about?" she scoffed incredulously. " ** _That's_** my shirt, **_those_** are my shorts, and **_that_** is my vest! But I don't need to tell you this because you **_know_** that those are **_my_** clothes, so, I'll ask again, **_what the hell do you think you're doing?_** "

The man gave her a slightly annoyed look. "And again, I am ready to take you all to the movie," he responded firmly. "And, **_yes_** , these are my clothes—you gave them to me."

The blonde stared at him for the longest time, trying to process what he'd just said. "Yep," she finally murmured, wide-eyed and pale, "you've finally snapped there, Merlin."

Loki's lip curled into a snarl. "I have **_not_** snapped," he growled. "I thought we left the "insanity" business behind us some time ago, Brynn."

"Well, how the heck else am I supposed to explain this?!"

"I just did: You gave these clothes to me."

" ** _No_** , I **_didn't_** , Loki!"

" ** _Yes_** , you **_did_** , Brynn."

" ** _When the hell did I do that?!_** "

"Well, to be honest, it wasn't so much an outright gesture as it was a quietly implied transferal."

Once again, Brynn stared at her guardian, perplexed. " ** _What?_** "

Sighing in a longsuffering way (once again, just to piss Brynn off further), the god recounted, "A month ago you came walking through the door covered in mud, dressed in this very outfit, mind you. At my suggestion, you put these things in the washer along with a load of my laundry. You did so and promised me that later on, when everything was finished, you would come to retrieve your clothes and put them away yourself. You didn't. Even as I reminded you about them and set them out in the basket in the hallway, you still didn't. I naturally assumed that that meant you had no desire to keep these clothes any longer."

It took all of Loki's considerable willpower to not burst out into outrageous guffaws at the look on his charge's face in reaction to this explanation. Priceless! If only he'd had a camera! Her blue-gray eyes about the size of dinner plates and her jaw dropped to the sidewalk, Brynn looked quite lost for anything to say. Which was saying something, considering she always seemed to have something to say.

"I… but… you… er… uh…" Brynn fumbled around for a response. It was a next to impossible feat, she was so dumbstruck. Finally she managed to snag onto something: "You're insane!"

Again that glower came back to Loki's face. Joking or not, getting the reaction he wanted out of Brynn or not, he did not appreciate being called "insane". "Crazy" was one thing—he couldn't very well deny that allegation—but he was not "insane". " ** _Brynna May_** ," he growled in warning.

"Loki, if I don't **_want_** clothes anymore, I will put them a box or bag and let you know so that we can take them to Goodwill or something," Brynn tried to explain as calmly and rationally as she could. "I'm **_not_** gonna give them to **_you_**! Silently, verbally, or otherwise!"

"How was I to know that? You **_did_** leave them in a laundry basket next to my room."

Brynn exploded. " **YOU** _ASSHAT_ **, YOU'RE NOT** _STUPID_ **!** "

"No, I'm not, but that's redundant."

"This **_entire conversation_** is redundant!" Brynn shrieked, hands waving wildly around. "Loki, I don't know what the hell kinda lesson you're trying to teach me here, but get to the moral already, **_please_**! **_I'm begging you!_** "

The man shook his head. "There is no lesson, Brynn," he assured her. "As I've stated before, I'm wearing clothes that you gave to me-"

" **THEY ARE** _GIRLS' CLOTHES_ **!** "

"And I think they're utterly adorable."

"Yeah! On **_me_**! They make **_you_** look like Ken if he got dressed when he was still half-asleep and put on Barbie's clothes by accident!"

A radiant smiled beamed across Loki's angular face. "Why, thank you!"

" **LOKI!** "

Cringing at the volume of her screech, the God of Mischief gave his charge a disapproving look. Brynn had a propensity for the over-dramatic, but that didn't give her an excuse to forget her manners and yell in such a way when she was standing barely a foot in front of him. "Brynna May Hagel," Loki scolded, "watch your tone. You don't need to yell—I am standing right here."

"Oh, believe me, I know!" Brynn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring back at her guardian. She ran her eyes over him and his unbelievable attire again. "Good god, do I… By. Odin's. Beard! Didyou ** _shave_** yourlegs?!"

Again that bright and maddening grin. "Why, yes, I did!" Loki chirruped, looking down at his long, muscular legs himself. He pivoted around in a rather effeminate way so that Brynn could see his limbs from all sides (almost making Brynn lose her lunch when she got a full view of what his ass looked like in her shorts). "It was an experience, let me tell you," he remarked. "It took up a lot of time and I wasn't sure if I should do it, but they looked ghastly otherwise."

"As opposed to **_now_**?" Brynn muttered, shielding her eyes. As much as she adored her guardian—which was saying much, because she absolutely loved him to pieces—it made the sixteen-year old highly uncomfortable to see him in such a state of undress. Or was it more of a… dressed but very inappropriately situation? Yes, it was probably that—she'd never had an issue with him walking around in nothing but a pair of pants before.

Loki suddenly looked down at his watch. "Hmm, a quarter to seven," he murmured. "We'd better hurry if we want to get there in time to get your seats." With that, the god made to continue his previous trek down the sidewalk towards the vehicle and the rest of Brynn's friend. (He noticed with some pleasure that they all looked rather dumbstruck and horrified, peeking out at him from behind their hands… except for Maddie. She wasn't averting her eyes at all. And she looked just a little bit too pleased and dreamy-eyed as she checked him out. Maybe Loki hadn't completely thought this plan through….)

Brynn suddenly braced her hands against his chest and her feet against the sidewalk, pushing back on him with all her might to make him stop. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" she exclaimed. "Back up! Joke's over!" She met his brilliant green eyes with her stricken blue-gray ones and shook her head desperately. "You are **_not_** going to town dressed like **_this_**!"

Loki looked himself over yet again. "What's wrong with this?"

"'What's wrong with this?'!" Brynn repeated incredulously. "Loki, if these clothes fit me in the same way they fit you, you wouldn't let me out of the house in 'em— ** _that's_** what's wrong! Loki, your **_ass_** is hanging out! **_Nobody_** wants to see that!"

" ** _I_** wanna see that!" Maddie shouted from her spot by the truck.

" **SHADDUPMADDIE—NOBODYASKEDYOU!** " Brynn hollered back, not looking away from Loki. Clasping the front of his shirt—well, her shirt—the girl gazed up into the trickster's face beseechingly. "Loki, **_please_** , I'm your little sister and I love you with all my heart," she pleaded frantically. "And if you feel the same way about me—if you've ever loved me at all, Loki— ** _please_** put something else on! Please! I'm begging you!"

With that, Loki's face sobered and the whole air about him grew serious. '… if you've ever loved me at all…' how could Brynn even question such a thing or vaguely imply that maybe he didn't? In fact the very reason he was willfully wearing her clothes and making a complete imbecile of himself was proof enough that he did, in actuality, love the girl. It also spoke to the fact of just how much he loved her. He certainly wouldn't have done this for Thor. (Then again, he didn't have to; he'd already proven his love for his brother by protecting Jane and dying on Svartalfheim—his obligation there was done as far as Loki was concerned.) "Of course I love you, Brynn," he murmured. "I love you very, **_very_** much—you know that."

There was actually a slight gleam of tears in Brynn's blue-gray eyes. "Then **_why?_** " she rasped, desperate to understand.

The man sighed heavily. "I believe you've already come to the conclusion, as you've mentioned it once."

Brynn thought for a minute, trying to remember what she'd said. "So this **_is_** a lesson then," she responded after a moment. She watched as her guardian nodded in confirmation. "A lesson for what?" she inquired. She still didn't understand why Loki had done this, why he'd allowed himself to look so hideously ridiculous and foolish, especially in front of company. What could he possibly be trying to teach her? What could be so drastic?

And then it hit her.

"Are you serious?" the teen deadpanned, some of that annoyance rising back up inside her again and burning away the franticness. "Are. You. **_Fucking._** **_Serious?_** " She was more emphatic that time around, pounding a fist hard against his chest.

Loki's face darkened. "Brynna May Hagel," he rumbled dangerously. "Utter such vile language again, young lady, and you will find yourself spitting soap suds for the rest of the evening. And if you hit me again you **_will_** regret it, I assure you."

Brynn ignored him and continued on. " ** _That's_** what this was about: me not putting away my laundry? You almost made me break down crying in desperate humiliation for **_that?!_** "

"Actually, I never intended to make you cry," he confessed, looking bit guilty, "and if that is the case, I apologize. Perhaps I pushed a bit too far."

"Ya think?" Brynn snapped, shoving away from him and forcefully perching her fists on her hips. She glared hotly at him.

"But the lesson wasn't so much about you not putting away your laundry," the god informed her, choosing for the moment to let her tone go than reprimand her for it. That would only lead to an argument they didn't have time for. "It was more about you not putting it away after you had given me your word that you would." A scolding expression came onto Loki's face as he said that.

The teen squirmed slightly under that gaze, some guilt springing up through that annoyance. Okay, he had a point—Brynn had to admit that. She remembered now and she had promised that she would put her clothes away, but then other stuff had happened and it had slipped her mind a few times and… well it was **_laundry_**! Whether it was a full basket of clothing or a pair of socks, who wanted to put away laundry? Still, she had said that she would. But that didn't mean he had to go around wearing her things in front of her friends, completely intent on actually wearing them out in public just to teach her a lesson about responsibility and keeping her word! "Ya couldn't've just **_talked_** to me about it?" she growled, her face turning red again.

Loki pursed his lips in contemplation a bit, his eyes rolling skyward as if the heavens would somehow help him consider her question more thoroughly. "I could have," he admitted after a minute or two. Then he looked back at the girl, smirking devilishly. "But where would have been the fun in that? This way I got to watch you go into a classic tizzy."

Brynn grabbed at her head, fisting her hands in her hair as if to rip it all out. Screwing her eyes shut she threw her head back and released a frustrated roar through clenched teeth. She stomped her foot. "God! You are **_such_** an **_ass_**!" she fumed. Honestly! How the hell could someone be **_this_** exasperating?! One thing was for sure: it definitely spoke to Loki's superhuman-ness, because no ** _human_** could be this irritating—it wasn't possible. If he wasn't careful, the man really **_was_** going to make her pull all her hair out!

"True," Loki conceded good-naturedly, arching an eyebrow. "But are you going to shirk off a responsibility again? Are you going to treat your word as if it means nothing again?"

Releasing her curly, blonde tresses, the girl let her hands fall limply to her sides and hung her head so that her hair hid her flushed cheeks. "No…" she muttered just loudly enough for the god to hear.

"Then my plan succeeded and my being an ass was well warranted."

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that, Viking Boy."

"Oh, I intend to."

Brynn couldn't help the slight smirk that curled her mouth. She shook her head. This man—this god… how she'd managed to deserve his presence in her life she still wasn't completely sure—nor was she sure she really wanted it sometimes—but here he was, and she couldn't imagine it any other way anymore. Whether he was being stern and protective or sweet and loving or just being a total douchebag like tonight, he was there with her. **_For_** her. And, whether she liked or wanted it or not, Brynn wouldn't have it any other way. She really wouldn't.

"Seriously though, Loks," she said after a moment, becoming all serious business as she looked him over yet again, "can you **_please_** change into something that won't give people heart attacks?"

Rather surprisingly, a look of utter relief came over the Asgardian's face at this request. "Gladly," he sighed. With a gleaming blur of a flash, Loki's clothes had instantaneously changed from his hideous, stolen get-up into one that was much more pleasing and fitting for him: black slacks, a green v-neck, and a dark gray blazer. The god shifted around, swinging his arms a bit and rolling his shoulders and neck, a look of pleasure on his face. A soft utter of, "Thank Odin," fell from his lips.

Striding out yet again, Loki wrapped an arm around his charge's shoulders, turning her around and leading her back down the sidewalk towards the others. "Your clothes are **_horrendously_** uncomfortable," he told her.

Smirking, Brynn looped an arm around the man's waist, matching her strides to his as best she could. (It wasn't as easy as it sounds, as he had **_very_** long legs.) "Well, for one, they're **_my_** size and are meant to fit **_me_** ," she retorted. "They definitely weren't designed and made with Asgardian chaos gods in mind."

Loki chuckled as he smoothed a hand over her hair. "No, I suppose not," he agreed.

Brynn gazed up at him. "I'll put 'em away when we get home after the movie," she said, face sincere. "I promise."

Her guardian nodded. "Of course you will," he replied. "They're back in the basket waiting for you. And on the off chance you won't put them away—and I'm sure that you will—I've charmed them to scream bloody murder at you every time you walk by the basket until you've dealt with them."

Brynn raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that seem a tad bit over-dramatic?"

That brought on a mocking sneer from the god. "It would seem they take after their mistress."

The girl gasped incredulously. Had he seriously just called her over-dramatic?! "Uh! Pft! Tsh! Huh! Ha! Excuse you?!" she yelped, offended by the insinuation. "I am **_not_** over-dramatic!"

"Says the girl who nearly broke down into tears over a prank not two minutes ago."

"Did you **_see_** what you looked like in that outfit? **_Hulk_** would have cried!"

"Perhaps, but it still wouldn't have been as hard as you would have." He leered down at her and snickered mischievously, "Crybaby."

"Jerkface."

"Drama queen."

"Bite me."

"Where would you like me to?"

Brynn's gaze darkened and narrowed into a glower. "I hate you," she rumbled.

Loki gazed fondly back at her. "I hate you too," he returned lovingly.

The girl reached up and playfully smacked his cheek. "I hate you first." A slight smile was starting to fade onto her face.

The god slipped a hand down and swatted her hip. "But I hate you most."

"That's what **_you_** think, big brother."

"That's what I **_know_** , little sister."

* * *

Bonus Ending: Did they make it to the movie in time?

With a squeal of tires on pavement, the champagne gold Dodge Ram drifted gracefully into a parallel parking space outside of The Sun Theater in Dalton. Moviegoers who were still filing in to the building all stopped and stared as the doors of the truck opened and five teenagers and a tall, dark-haired, green-eyed man exited them.

Four of the teens—the two boys and two of the girls—were white as sheets and trembling so badly they could hardly walk: One of the boys even threw himself down on the ground and began to hug and kiss it. The man, however, was smiling in a rather self-pleased way. The fifth teen—a blonde girl who looked much more composed than the others though she still looked abnormally pale and appeared to be shaking as well—merely turned to her friends and said a bit numbly, "See? Told'ja he'd get us here in time."

Just then the wail of sirens was heard, and a second later, several police vehicles squealed around the corner and peeled down the street towards the cinema, lights flashing.

Looking slightly alarmed by this, the black-haired man quickly turned his eyes on the truck they'd all just come out of. The truck suddenly changed colors from gold to gray. The license plates seemed to have changed as well. Then, the man grabbed the blonde girl by the hand and began quickly tugging her along towards the theater doors. "Come on, kids," he called back over his shoulder as the police drew closer, but didn't seem to have any inclination of slowing down. "Come on now."

The police cruisers blew right past the theater. They didn't even look back.


	3. Sick Days

Sick Days

Need to know(s): Thor is king of Asgard and is married to Jane. Thor and Jane will always be a thing in my writing—always.

Theme song: _All Our Days_ (instrumental) ~ Jeff Williams & Casey Lee Williams

Characters: Loki & Brynn

Rating: T (language)

Genre: Hurt/comfort and family

Summary: Loki and Brynn have been through a lot together, but they have yet to face down a bout of the stomach flu together. They both discover it's something neither of them enjoys.

* * *

Today was not going to be a good day. Brynn Hagel could tell that the crumminess of it was going to be at an astronomically record high before she'd really even woken up.

It had started with the fact that the smell of eggs and sausage pulling her out of slumber made her feel quite nauseous as opposed to hungry. While annoyed by it, Brynn brushed it aside, chalking it up to an oncoming period. It was drawing near that time of the month, after all, and it wasn't uncommon for her to experience some cramps or queasiness a few days prior: She took it as a warning sign to start arming herself early.

"Guess I'll just have some toast for breakfast," the teen sighed. She would have preferred to skip breakfast entirely, but she knew that wouldn't fly with her guardian; he had a thing about breakfasts. And normally Brynn didn't mind—she rather enjoyed a good breakfast, and Loki had actually proven himself to be quite the chef in the kitchen—but this morning the thought of food just didn't agree with her at all. Still, she figured she could manage to get down some toast.

So, with a heavy groan, the sixteen-year-old sat up in bed only to quickly clutch at her rolling stomach and moan. "Mmm, hittin' me hard this time, huh?" she grumbled, rubbing her middle. She swung her feet out of bed, stood slowly in order to avoid another wave of nausea like the last, and trudged her way out of her room and down the hall and stairs. The ache in her stomach only seemed to grow worse with each step.

Entering the kitchen, Brynn was greeted with the sight of her godly caretaker pouring himself a cup of coffee: He was already washed, dressed, and ready to greet the day. The teen, on the other hand, was wishing the day wasn't here yet. "Hey," she croaked, meandering over to the island and clambering up onto one of the stools.

"Good morning," Loki returned, not looking in her direction yet. Taking a sip of coffee, he stepped towards the stove to check on the food. "Almost ready," he informed her.

Brynn, who had laid her head down on the countertop to cool her hot face, sat up once more and replied, "I think I'm just gonna have some toast this morning. Sorry, Loki, but I'm just not in the mood for much."

That caused the raven-haired man to turn around and look at her with a brilliant green gaze of curiosity and some worry. "That's unlike you," he murmured.

The blonde teen shrugged and laid her head back down on the countertop. She felt like talking less than she felt like eating; it only seemed to make her feel even queasier.

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. Brynn was hardly ever so tightlipped and unwilling to converse, unless she was angry with him and giving him the silent treatment, and he couldn't recall doing anything recently that would make her mad enough to do that. Looking her over, the god noticed that his charge seemed to appear a bit peaked. Even a bit green. "Brynn," he turned off the stove and moved in her direction, "are you feeling all right, Princess?"

The teenager had learned a long time ago that there was no point in lying to the Asgardian; he was the literal God of Mischief and knew how to lie and fib and tell tall tales like nobody's business and could spot them in anyone else. Only a handful of people had ever been able to trick the Trickster and Brynn certainly wasn't one of them. The closest she'd ever come was him stating how amusing he found her lie to be. So she certainly wasn't going to try and lie to him now. (Not that she wanted to anyway, she felt so miserable.) "No," she moaned dismally. "It feels like my insides wanna be on my outsides. I think the Red Menace is gonna be particularly angry with me this time around."

Loki made an unconvinced hum. Pulling her to sit up, he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, finding it hot. The man pursed his lips. "You're feverish," he stated, taking her wrist and checking her pulse. "I suppose I can't speak with any certainty on this, but I don't think this is period-related, Brynn—I would say you're ill."

Brynn groaned and rested her head on the counter again. "Noooo," she lamented. "I can't be sick."

"Actually, you most certainly can; you're human and, as such, are susceptible to disease ridden germs."

"No, duh," Brynn snapped, though she was feeling so lousy there wasn't an ounce of venom in her tone, "I know that. I mean, I can't be sick 'cuz I can't miss school; I've got two big tests today: Spanish and Algebra. They'll be hell to make up and I've been studying for the last week." Without warning, the girl's stomach lurched violently. Slapping a hand over her mouth, Brynn had just enough time to launch herself over the countertop to noisily vomit last night's supper into the sink just on the other side of the island. When she was finished, she continued to lay there, her head hanging over the lip of the counter, despite how uncomfortable a position it was. "Shit…" she coughed.

Her guardian pulled her back to sit on the stool again. "Language, Brynna May," he scolded, though his tone was soft and gentle. Loki reached across the island to turn on the faucet so that the sick would wash down the drain before conjuring up a glass of water and offering it to the girl. He then conjured a moist towel and began to gently sponge her face. "I believe this would be that so called "stomach flu" that has been infecting your school," he remarked.

Brynn swished the water through her mouth in order to clear out the dreadful taste of puke before spitting it back into the glass. She didn't dare try to drink any. "I haven't had stomach flu since I was twelve," she stated, leaning into the god's caring touch. She found it soothing.

"Then it would seem you're due. I think it's safe to say that you won't be going to school today."

"But my tests-"

"Can wait until you're well," Loki stated firmly, giving the child his 'no nonsense' face. "I daresay you wouldn't be able to perform your best anyway, if you were focusing on trying to keep your food down instead of your exams. Assuming you could accomplish the task; I don't believe 'x' equals partially digested food or 'por favor' means 'bile'."

"I think I could handle it," Brynn insisted, though her tummy churned at the mentions of "partially digested food" and "bile. Both conjured up nasty mental images. "I already feel better after throwing up and…" she broke off as her stomach rolled again. The girl dove back towards the sink and heaved again. Then she sank back onto the stool and folded her arms across the counter to rest her head on them as she moaned miserably. "Dammit…."

Loki's hand found her back and began to rub gentle circles into it. "You were saying?" he murmured, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

Whimpering, Brynn turned to face the Asgardian, clutched his shirt, and pressed her face into his chest. "Can't you just use your magic to make me better?" she whimpered. She really did not want to miss those tests. Nor did she fancy the idea of spending the day puking her guts out.

Loki wrapped his arms around his charge and held her close as he rubbed her back and tried to smooth her messy hair. His heart ached for the girl. He could both see and feel just how miserable she was, and the god hated to see his beloved little sister in any kind of pain. "I wish I could, Princess," he sighed, voice soft against her ear. "Believe me, I wish more than anything I could, but it doesn't quite work like that."

Brynn snuggled closer to Loki, seeking comfort. "You've healed me before," she insisted.

"I've healed your body when you were injured, yes," the god agreed. "This is sickness; it's not the same thing as being injured."

The blonde simply whined and pressed closer.

Loki planted a kiss in the child's golden hair and tucked her head beneath his chin. "I **_am_** sorry, Princess," he apologized with all sincerity.

"'S not your fault," Brynn grumbled.

Sighing, the trickster scooped his charge up into his arms with ease and turned to leave the kitchen and retreat back upstairs. "Back to bed with you, little sister," he stated.

Brynn instinctively rested her head against his shoulder and coiled her arms around his neck. "Mmm," she moaned indignantly but feebly, " ** _school, tests_**."

" ** _Rest, getting well,_** " Loki countered.

The sixteen-year-old gazed blearily up into this face. "So you're playing nursemaid today then?" she questioned.

A slight smile graced the green-eyed man's lips. "I am," he declared, meeting her gaze. "And I believe I've played the part to some critical acclaim already."

"Hmm, yeah, but this time it's stomach flu," Brynn reminded him, "not a cold. Totally different situation with the puking and the dry heaves when there's nothing else to cough up and the cramps. And let's not get started on the diarrhea—I mean, even with soft TP it can be bitch."

"I am ready for whatever challenges you and your illness have to throw at me," her guardian assured her.

That's when something else crossed Brynn's mind. "But don't you have some sort of meeting on Asgard today?"

Loki sighed heavily at the mention of that. Yes, he did; Thor had requested that he be present when he met with the council that day, declaring that, as Loki was his brother as well as the Prince, he should have a say in Asgardian matters, despite the fact he now resided on and called Midgard his home. The trickster was also willing to bet it was because Thor was discovering that being King of Asgard was not so easy as he had originally thought, and found himself somewhat lacking in strategic planning where Loki naturally excelled. It was rather nice to know he was needed by his brother and king, even if Thor would never admit to such things.

"It would appear my schedule has changed," the man responded to her question.

"Won't Thor be upset?"

"If he is, my dear brother will simply have to lump it, as you are much more of a priority for me." Loki noticed out of the corner of his eye how the ghost of a smile twitched the teen's mouth in response to that. He couldn't help but smile in return. He loved her smile, whether it was sickly or not; it made his heart soar. "But I don't believe Thor will take much issue with it, once I explain to him why I can't be there." The god turned his face to Brynn's and kissed her cheek, causing the child to weakly giggle. "If there's one thing my brother and I truly agree on," he crooned, "it's that our Princesses come first."

Brynn smirked. "I think Jane's more of a queen than a princess," she remarked.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to," Loki replied, "either way, you both rule us."

"You make it too easy," Brynn snickered.

Reaching the top of the stairs, the raven-haired god made his way down the hall and entered Brynn's room. He gently deposited her on the bed. "Now," he murmured, pulling up her covers and tucking the girl in, "sleep. And don't worry about anything besides getting well."

"Easier said than done," Brynn grumbled. "I'll probably have nightmares about my tests."

"You'll be fine. It's not as though this isn't something that never happens, is it? As many children as there are in schools all across this country, I can hardly imagine every teacher expects all of them to be healthy enough to attend school every day there is a test."

"It's not really that it's just-"

"'They'll be hell to make up'—yes, I know, you've told me already." Loki gave the teen a slightly impish sneer.

Brynn returned it. "Well, it's **_true_**."

"I never disputed it wasn't."

"You know you have to call, right? Tell them I'm not gonna be there?"

"Yes, yes, I know."

"What about chores?"

Loki snapped his fingers. "Done."

"I'll prob'ly need a bucket, just in case I can't make it to the bathroom in time."

A wave of the god's hand and a golden chamber pot appeared on Brynn's bedside table. "Anything else?" Loki questioned, looking back at his charge.

At that, Brynn's face flushed redder, and the man knew it wasn't due to her fever. "Will… will you sit with me?" she murmured, looking down as she fiddled with the hem of the sheets. "Until I go to sleep anyway?" Despite how she loved Loki and she knew he loved her, and despite how this was hardly the first time she'd ever asked him this, the girl was still embarrassed to be asking such a thing. She was sixteen—practically a woman; she was much too old to be asking her guardian to sit with her until she fell asleep like some little girl sleeping in a big-girl bed for the first time. But the fact remained the Brynn wanted Loki there. She was sick and didn't like being alone when she was sick. Plus… Loki's presence just seemed to help make her feel better, for whatever reason.

A soft, adoring smile creased Loki's lips, his brilliant green eyes reflecting the utter love and warmth for the child before him that filled his heart to bursting. "Of course I will, Princess," he purred. "I will always sit with you. Here, scoot over." He helped Brynn slide over on her mattress so that he could settle in beside her on the bed, leaning back against the headboard and stretching out his lanky legs. Brynn cuddled close to rest her head on his chest and the man wrapped an arm around her. He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips, sweetly kissing her knuckles before kissing the top of her head. "Go to sleep now, little sister," he whispered, resting his cheek against her hair as he stroked her forearm with his thumb, still holding her hand in his. Closing his eyes, he softly began to hum their lullaby.

As she laid there, curled up in the warm embrace of her brother, listening to the song as it rumbled through his chest in his sweet baritone, Brynn slowly began to feel sleep take over her. Yawning, she closed her eyes and nuzzled into Loki's chest. She definitely hadn't missed stomach flu at all and it went without say she wasn't thrilled to have it again, but at least this time Loki was around. So there was **_some_** light in all of this.

* * *

Loki quickly learned that the stomach flu was not very conducive to the "rest is the best medicine" policy; Brynn only managed to catnap most of the first day between bouts of vomiting and… even less pleasant symptoms of the sickness. Worried by the frequency of such fits, as well as the fact that they had lasted all day and through most of the night, the god had consulted the advice of Sylvia Asher, the mother of Brynn's two friends, Sean and Maddie. The woman, apart from loving Brynn as another daughter thus insuring Loki's faith that she would do her best to help Brynn, was a skilled nurse and would know exactly the kind of counsel to give him.

 _"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, Loki," Mrs. Asher assured him over the phone. "It's perfectly normal with stomach flu to pretty much live in the bathroom, especially for the first twenty-four hours. The next couple of days shouldn't be as bad, though I'd still expect her to be in there a lot yet."_

 _"The next couple days?" Loki questioned, more than a little put out by this implication. It was hard enough watching Brynn have to go through it for_ **one** _day, let alone_ **multiple** _days!_

 _"Oh, yes," Sylvia replied. "Stomach flu typically lasts a few days to a week—it all depends on the person and how you're treating it."_

 _"Well, how do I treat it then?" the god asked, eager to help his sister. He didn't want to see her in pain any longer than he had to. "What do I need to do?"_

 _"Well, honestly, there's not a whole lot you_ **can** _do, Loki," the woman answered._

 _"Forgive me for being impertinent, Mrs. Asher, but that advice isn't the least bit helpful."_

 _The woman chuckled. "I know it's not, but it's the truth. I know Brynn's miserable as can be, Loki, but there really isn't much you can do apart from letting this thing run its course."_

 _"So I'm simply to stand to the side and watch as Brynn suffers through this affliction alone?" Loki wasn't able to keep the annoyance from his voice. Here he was, already feeling helpless and guilty enough that he didn't know how to help his charge with her sickness, and now he was being told that there really_ **wasn't** _anything he could do for her. It was very frustrating!_

 _"Well, not necessarily—you don't have to let her be alone and deal with it all herself. The main thing you should do is make sure that she stays hydrated, especially if she spent all day yesterday puking and on the toilet; so make sure she's drinking water all day today. And I mean_ **actually** _drinking it and_ **regularly** _, not just letting it sit there for an occasional sip. That's the issue with stomach flu; it makes you feel like you'll throw up anything and everything you put in your stomach so you try to avoid doing it completely."_

 _"So make sure she drinks plenty of water," Loki repeated, feeling a little bit better that maybe he could help Brynn in some way. "Is there anything else I can do to at least help her feel a bit more… comfortable?"_

 _"Heat will help with abdominal pain, so a heating pad or hot-water bottle or even a warm towel or blanket draped across her tummy would probably make her feel a lot better. And a little extra TLC is the unspoken remedy for just about every illness there is out there."_

 _"Is there anything we can do to… uh… slow the frequency of bathroom trips?"_

 _"Well, there are anti-diarrheal medicines, but I personally think it's better to take the more natural route with food, that way she's getting some nutrients as well. I'd recommend rice or toast, but bananas and applesauce are good too."_

 _"All right. Are there any warning signs I should be watching for?" Loki asked, wanting all the information he could get. If he was going to help Brynn he wanted to do it right. "In case I need to take her to the hospital?"_

 _"That usually doesn't happen with stomach flu," the woman assured him. "It's nasty but pretty mild as far as medical attention. As long as Brynn's not in excruciating pain or burning up with a fever or there's not blood coming from anywhere you'll be fine. Rest, water, a little food, and a lot of TLC will go a long way, Loki. Just let it burn itself out."_

And so Loki had taken all this advice to heart, and was currently in the kitchen preparing some toast for Brynn's brunch. He didn't expect her to eat much, but the god at least wanted her to try. A little was better than nothing.

A thunder of hurried thumping and a slamming door sounded above his head and the Asgardian turned his gaze towards the ceiling for a moment. He grimaced. If stomach flu was this disagreeable to just be around, Loki didn't want to imagine what actually being afflicted with it would be like.

Sighing, the god turned his attention back to piece of toast he was buttering. If only there was something more he could do to help Brynn find relief, but he'd spoken the truth when she'd asked him; sorcery didn't work in such a way. Were this some sort of mystical disease then it would be a different story but, both fortunately and unfortunately, it wasn't and there wasn't anything Loki's magic could do rid his charge of her illness. It was simply something that was going to have to work itself out and it would, as he'd been assured. But that didn't make this situation any easier for the both of them in the meantime.

 _Loki…._

The god suddenly froze as Brynn's voice echoed through his mind. She sounded pitiful and in terrible pain, and she certainly must have been if she was using their telepathic link to contact him rather than simply calling out for him!

Bypassing the time it would take to run up the stairs and to the bathroom to Brynn, Loki simply reached for the braided band of soft, golden hair encircling his wrist and closed his fingers upon it. A vision of his charge helplessly curled into the fetal position on the bathroom floor appeared before him. It was almost as if she was right there in front of him. Taking a step towards her while holding the bracelet, Loki came to stand in the bathroom before her, then, releasing his hold on the bracelet, knelt beside the girl. "Brynn!" he exclaimed, grasping her shoulder. She was trembling and covered in a cold sweat.

"Loki…" Brynn groaned through clenched teeth, letting go of the black bracelet of braided hair around her own wrist. That alone seemed to be too much for her, as she curled up into an even tighter ball, a pathetic whimper escaping her.

"Brynn, what's wrong?" Loki inquired, brushing some sweat-soaked strands of hair from her pale face. "Tell me, Princess."

"Cramps…" the teenager squeaked. Tears seeping out of her tightly shut eyes, she released a stifled sob. She didn't want to cry—sobbing would only make her stomach hurt worse—but it wasn't something she found herself capable of controlling at the moment. Everything was just too much right now! Brynn whimpered helplessly. "Lllooookiiiii..." she instinctively moaned the man's name as a way of asking for help.

Loki recognized this and felt all the more guilty for not being able to do much for her suffering. Then he remembered what else Sylvia had told him, besides the diet and hydration advice: "… as long as Brynn's not in excruciating pain…." He just hoped that this wasn't the case; he didn't like the thought of sending Brynn to the hospital—that would just mean there was something horribly wrong. The god gently rolled the girl onto her back and gazed down into her sweating face, wiping some of the tears away. "Brynn, look at me," he softly ordered. When the girl had opened her tear-filled eyes, he questioned very seriously, "The pain you're experiencing—do I need to take you to the hospital?"

Brynn swallowed thickly and shook her head. "No," she answered. "But it still really, **_really_** hurts though, Loki." She gazed up into her guardian's eyes beseechingly, knowing that he could sense her agony but wanting to convey to him just how miserably she felt regardless. "Are you **_sure_** you can't use magic to get rid of this thing?"

That brought an empathetic smile from the god as he shook his head at her. "I wish I could, Princess," he murmured, caressing her face with all the love in the world, "but, as I've told you already, it doesn't work like that."

Brynn closed her eyes again and moaned helplessly.

"However," Loki continued on, drawing the girl's attention once more, "according to Mrs. Asher, there is something I can do that should help with the cramps."

A look of the greatest hope flooded Brynn's peaky face and a tiny smile curled her tightly drawn lips. "I would love you **_forever_** ," she croaked.

Loki chuckled. "I'm your brother," he returned, gently tweaking her nose. "You're going to love me forever regardless." That said, the Asgardian carefully scooped the blonde up into his arms and shifted positions so that he was sitting on the floor with is back against the bathtub and his lanky legs crossed. Cradling Brynn in his lap, he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Here," he whispered, "tell me how this feels." All at once his right hand began to glow with a soft, golden light and he pressed it to the teenager's abdomen and began to slowly, gently rub.

Almost immediately the sharp, intense pain of the cramps attacking Brynn's stomach seemed to vanish, leaving behind a pleasantly warm sensation. It was as though some kind of super-heating-pad that not only soothed but completely took the pain away was draped across her tummy; even a bit of the nausea seemed to dissipate with it! An utterly relieved sigh whooshed out of the child's lungs. Her taut and trembling muscles released and she completely relaxed within her guardian's embrace, her forehead pressed against his neck. "God bless you and your magic," she heaved, eyes drifting shut.

"I take it that feels better then," Loki remarked, more than a little amused with the girl's reaction as well as thrilled that she felt better.

Brynn simply hummed in confirmation as she snuggled closer to the god. "What is that?" she questioned in reference to the spell Loki was using.

"A mix of a simple heating charm along with a pain relief spell," came the reply. "It won't last indefinitely—neither are permanent—but you should have several hours of relief before there is a chance of suffering cramps again."

"Huh. How come you've never used this when I've had period cramps?"

"You've never asked me to. You simply take your aspirin and eat your ice cream and junk food and go about your day insisting you're fine even when I know you're not. And I may be your brother, but even so, I don't presume to believe you'd appreciate it if I were to pull you into my arms and start rubbing your stomach without some sort of warning. Especially not when you're in **_that_** particular mood."

"… Point taken. Okay, take this as a permanent request to do this whenever the Red Menace is around. Aspirin's got **_nothin'_** on this."

Loki chuckled. Somehow this child never ceased to be amusing in some way. "Noted." He pressed another kiss to her hairline.

Brynn leaned into it, humming in contentment as a slight smile curled her lips. She loved it when her guardian got all affectionate and paternal like this. "Ya know, you should prob'ly really stop kissing me," she told him, despite enjoying it. "You'll get sick too."

"Mmm, how considerate of you to show concern," the black-haired man returned with a soft smile. "I'm a god, Brynn, my physiology is made of sterner stuff than yours—I am immune to your Midgardian diseases."

Brynn opened her eyes and looked up to meet Loki's emerald gaze. She gave him a playfully offended look. "Are you suggesting that I'm a wuss?"

Loki pursed his lips. "Not exactly," he answered. "At least not specifically **_you_** —rather… Midgardians in general." He smirked roguishly at her.

Brynn half-heartedly glared back at the god. "I should smack you on behalf of my species," she rumbled, "but I don't have the strength."

"Or you love me too much," Loki countered with a knowing smile.

"Hmm, maybe," Brynn responded impishly as she snuggled even closer to her guardian. Nuzzling in his chest, she closed her eyes again and relaxed, relishing in his affection as well as the freedom from discomfort he was granting her. His steady heartbeat drummed soothingly in her ear.

Comfortable silence fell over the two of them for a long moment as Loki continued to spell away Brynn's pain and discomfort. If it wasn't for the fact that her breathing hadn't slowed and evened out to the point that it usually did when she slept, the god would have believed her to have fallen asleep. Finally he pressed another kiss to her face. "Feeling better?" he whispered.

Sighing, Brynn nodded. "Thank you," she muttered. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck as she buried her face in the crook of it.

Loki returned the embrace, ceasing the spell as he did so. "No need to thank me," he chuckled. "I'm your guardian—it's my job to take care of and help you." He rubbed her back and added softly, "And as your brother, I would do anything to keep you from suffering, or at least from suffering any more than you have to." The god held his charge for several moments more before pulling her away and meeting her gaze, his nose crinkled in feigned disgust. "You're all sweaty."

Brynn meekly smirked. "Really?" she croaked. "Hadn't noticed."

Chuckling, her guardian smirked back and brushed her messy fringe away from her face. "Why don't you take a nice, long bath—wash all that off and relax?"

"That sounds like a good idea," the sixteen-year-old replied sincerely.

Loki nodded and stood with a grunt, pulling the girl to her feet along with him. Turning around to face the tub, he turned on the faucets, adding the exact right amount of cold and hot water so the bath would be the temperature Brynn liked. He turned back to the girl and kissed her again. "Take your time, Princess," he told her. "Soak until you're a prune if you want."

"Thanks, Merlin."

The god was suddenly struck with an idea. "In fact…" he said, snapping his fingers. A full glass of water appeared in his left hand while a plate of toast appeared in the other. He held them out to her. "Here."

Brynn looked at them quizzically. "What?"

"You're bath isn't over until both are gone," Loki explained.

The child rolled her eyes and groaned. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Brynn wrapped her arms around her middle as it churned a bit at the very thought of such a notion. She pressed her lips firmly together and swallowed thickly. "Do I need to?" she whimpered.

"I would greatly prefer it if you did," Loki answered sincerely, "but I understand if you feel unable to accomplish it."

The teen nodded.

"However, I would like you to **_try_** and eat something," the man insisted with a gentle, winning smile.

Unable to say 'no' to that face, Brynn nodded once again. "I'll try," she assured him.

"But I **_do_** expect you to drink the water—you need to stay hydrated."

Another nod. "I think I can do the water part."

"That's all I ask," Loki said. With another snap of his fingers a fresh pair of pajamas appeared neatly stacked and folded on the edge of the sink. "I'll leave you to it then," he said as he began to leave the room. "When you're finished perhaps we can watch a movie together."

"Nothing too funny," Brynn called after him. "I don't think my stomach can take the laughing."

"Wise idea," Loki remarked, looking back with yet another smirk. "What do you suggest?"

"The Star Wars prequels would probably be pretty safe—I never laugh at those."

"… Aren't those on your "most boring movies I've ever experienced in my life ever" list?"

"Exactly. I'll fall asleep."

* * *

Brynn soaked in the bath for nearly an hour until she finally felt ready to get out. She had successfully managed to sip the entire glass of water gone and eat an entire piece of toast as well as nibble a bit of the other and keep it down. Her stomach never felt much better though. At least Loki would be happy, and now, if she did throw up again, it wouldn't be the dry heaves. That was worth it.

Toweling off, Brynn changed into her new set of pajamas, picked up the glass and the half-eaten toast, and left the bathroom to head downstairs. She stopped in at the kitchen to leave her dishes before proceeding to the living room where she found her guardian in his easy chair reading a book. When she entered he looked up and smiled at her.

"Feeling better?" he questioned.

Brynn smiled meekly back. "A little," she admitted. "At least, better in the sense I'm not all sweaty anymore. But other than tha-" she suddenly gagged and her hands flew to her mouth to clasp over it as her cheeks expanded. All at once a chamber pot appeared at her feet and the teen quickly feel to her knees, noisily spewing into it.

Loki was by her side in a second, pulling her hair back and comfortingly rubbing her back.

When she finally stopped upchucking, Brynn slowly fell back to sit on the floor. Bracing her elbows on her knees she rested her head in her hands, finding herself very tired. "Ugh... So much for the toast," she grumbled. A fresh glass of water was held out under her nose and she took it, rinsing her mouth out and spitting into the chamber pot. She dared to take a swig of it. "Thanks."

The trickster god offered her a sympathetic look as he banished the chamber pot and took the glass away. "Come here, little sister," he murmured, reaching down to pick her up off the floor.

Without hesitation Brynn reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, then her legs around his middle. Burying her face in his shoulder, she clung to him like a small child. "Loki," she whined, sounding as much like a little girl as she was acting, "my tummy hurts."

Loki sighed as he carried her back over to the couch. "I know, Princess," he purred, his voice soft against her ear. "I know." Sinking down to sit on the couch, the raven-haired man snuggled the blonde closer. "I wish there was something more I could do to help," he stated, smoothing her hair.

"You do a lot just by being here actually," Brynn reassured him. She turned her face to press into his neck and take in his calming scent. "I like your company—it makes me feel a little bit better."

Loki couldn't help but chuckle softly, his already boundless love for this Midgardian growing deeper and stronger. Until Brynn, the god had never thought he would come to a place in his life where his presence alone would be of comfort to someone—he hadn't imagined it possible. He'd always been the troublemaker, the outsider, the one many people had wished would leave or, better yet, just disappear completely. Even his minimal presence had been craved by few. And now here he was on Midgard, sitting with a young girl he'd miraculously been granted custody of cuddled into his arms, needing, wanting, and—amazingly—taking comfort in his presence. How the tables had turned! And how overjoyed he was that they had.

Unwrapping one of Brynn's arms from his neck, the god took her hand and pressed his lips to it in a loving kiss. "Are you ready for a movie marathon then?" he asked, caressing her back.

Face still buried in the crook of his neck, Brynn nodded. "Don't know how much I'll actually watch," she remarked. "I'm so tired I'll probably be asleep by the first scene."

Loki chuckled, "I thought that was the idea."

His charge slowly untangled herself from him and moved to lay down to his left on the couch. "Point taken," she replied with a meek smirk at him as she curled up. She moved to tuck an arm under her head, but a soft, fluffy pillow was conjured there before she had the chance, followed by a blanket, already pleasantly warm, draping itself over her. Best of all, her stuffed alligator, Albert, suddenly appeared beside her. Wrapping her arms around the stuffedie, Brynn snuggled it close, rubbing her cheek into the soft texture of it. "Thanks, big bro," she murmured, smiling at Loki.

The Asgardian returned it. "You're most welcome, Princess," he crooned. He reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Now," he went on after a moment, "shall we begin?" When Brynn had nodded, Loki summoned the remote control to him and pressed 'play' before settling back into watch. Or was 'endure' the more appropriate term? He had yet to actually watch any of these "Star Wars" movies, but according to Brynn the second trilogy (which chronologically came **_before_** the **_first_** trilogy, which just blew Loki's mind a little bit…) took a special kind of willpower to get through without wanting to break the TV. The god sighed. What had he gotten himself into here?

A sudden yawn caused Loki to look over at Brynn yet again. He smiled with a snort. Her eyes were already drooping with sleep.

Feeling eyes on her, Brynn looked up and met her guardian's gaze. She offered a drowsy smile and reached a hand out towards the god.

Knowing what that meant, Loki scooted even closer (her feet were in his lap now) and took her hand in his, gently squeezing it and running his thumb across her knuckles. His heart—which long ago he felt was as ice cold and frozen as the world he'd originally been born to—melted a bit as the girl pulled his hand closer to her own heart. It was then that the God of Mischief decided he didn't care what he'd gotten himself into or how bad it turned out to be: It was for Brynn. And he'd readily put up with the worst of scenarios a million times over if it was for her benefit. "Go to sleep then, you silly girl," he murmured softly, patting her thigh.

With another yawn, Brynn compliantly closed her eyes and nuzzled into the perfect softness of her pillow.

The god watched on as the girl's breathing became restful and her grip on his hand loosened as she slipped into slumber. A tender smile curled his lips. Yes. He would most definitely put up with anything for her.

"Oh, mooie, mooie, I love you!"

Loki's head whipped around at the sound of such a godawful, grating voice and he stared at the television in horror. Some computer-generated… monstrosity with a long neck, reddish brown skin, large, flapping ears, strange, bugging eyes, and overly long and large appendages was flailing his way across the screen. "What. In Odin's name. Is that… **_hideous_** creature?!"

"Mesa call Jar Jar Binks! Mesa your humble servant!"

And just like that, Loki could feel all the hope for possibly enjoying this movie he'd had (granted it wasn't much) evaporating away. His eye began to twitch as Jar Jar Binks continued to talk and he curled his hands into tight fists in order to fight the urge to tear something apart. He nearly bit a hole through his tongue to keep from yelling at the movie. "You will owe me **_big time_** for this, Brynna May!" he rumbled softly between clenched teeth. Yes, he would definitely put up with anything for his little sister, but that didn't mean he was always going to be happy about it!


	4. Crush

Crush

Need to know(s): Nothing at this point—it's pretty self-explanatory.

Theme song: _Girlfriend_ ~ Avril Lavigne.

Characters: Maddie, Brynn, Loki, Various OCs

Rating: T (language and innuendo)

Genre: Humor and friendship

Summary: Maddie's over-the-top crush on Loki is no secret. She'll do whatever she can to try and catch the hunky God of Mischief's attention, much to everyone else's chagrin and dismay.

* * *

Madelyn Elizabeth Asher had always been a strongminded girl. From the moment she had come into the world, she knew what she wanted and what she liked and was more than capable of getting such things. She was confident, independent, intelligent and resourceful.

But even the most strongminded people have their Kryptonite, and Maddie was no exception to this rule. For some people, it was food; others, clothes; and yet others, it was cute and fluffy critters. Maddie's Kryptonite happened to be the male gender of the human or humanoid species. **_Attractive_** males to be exact. And Maddie was not the least bit ashamed to admit to this weakness at all; after all, if she had to have one, it was one worth having!

While Maddie wasn't one to focus all of her attention on one boy and instead took it upon herself to admire many at one time, more often than not she did develop a focal point of strong attraction on a single figure. There had been Steve from Blues Clues; John Smith from Pocahontas; Troy Bolton; Edward Cullen/Robert Pattinson; the Ninth Doctor just to name a few. But most recently, and probably most obsessively because, unlike her other crushes, he was in fact **_real_** and **_present_** in her life, Maddie's focal point of attraction had firmly settled upon a certain Asgardian chaos god.

Yet, despite Loki's realness and his close proximity, he was without a doubt the single most aggravating crush the girl had ever had in her entire life. And it was due to one factor: The god did not feel the same way for her in return.

Normally with her crushes this wasn't an issue for Maddie. While it did suck that she felt things for characters that couldn't feel anything for her in return, there had at least been the fact that all of her crushes had been completely fictional or otherwise unattainable. She could love them and mentally date them all she wanted, but in the sensible part of her mind Maddie knew there was no hope to cling to. But this time her crush was very real, very there, **_and_** she knew him personally. And yet bubkis! He hardly even ever looked her way or spent time with her one-on-one. He did with everyone else in their group, though! So why not her?!

Not able to come up with an conclusion on her own, Maddie had finally cornered Brynn one day to demand answers….

 _"You make him uncomfortable," Brynn replied without a second's thought. "And he's a chaos god that has no qualms about shapeshifting into the opposite sex and often around other people—do you_ **know** _how hard it is to make Loki_ **truly** _uncomfortable to the point he leaves you alone? That's a superpower, Maddie, be damn proud and grateful of it."_

 _"I don't_ **want** _to be proud and grateful of it," Maddie snapped, "I_ **want** _Loki to like me! And the hell do you mean I make him "_ **uncomfortable** _"?"_

 _Her best friend gave her the straightest and sincerest of looks as she stated, "Maddie, I love you—always have, always will. And it's because I love you that I say this: when it comes to boys—especially boys you really like—you are cringe."_

 _Maddie scowled, highly offended by this statement that she strongly viewed as misleading. "I am not "cringe"," she snarled, "I am_ **proactive** _."_

 _"It is_ **not** _"proactive" to mail a Valentine to your crush that explodes glitter in the face of whoever opens it."_

 _Maddie groaned and rolled her eyes. "How long am I gonna have to apologize for that?_

 _"As long as it takes for Loki and me to stop finding random pieces of glitter in our hairbrushes after we use them," Brynn rumbled with a glower._

 _Maddie shook her head in exasperation. "You two and your hair—I swear, Brynn."_

 _"Oh," Brynn remarked with a feigned look of surprise. "Would you prefer for Loki to lose his—what'd you call 'em?—"silky locks of ebony midnight that you'd give anything to touch" then? Because he_ **has** _been talking about a trim—"_

 _"No!" Maddie screeched flinging her hands in her friend's face. She loved Loki's look—especially his long black hair—and didn't want a single thing about it to change._

 _Brynn smirked in amusement. The one plus side to her best friend having a crush on her brother was that she got to have a hell of a lot of fun with teasing and tormenting Maddie with Loki. … Evidently the Trickster God really_ **was** _rubbing off on her._

 _"Ugh!" Maddie all but slammed her face into the wall in utter frustration. This guy! This incredibly sexy, hunk-of-the-year-material guy! Why did he have to be so damn perfect? And what did it take to make headway with him?! The brunette turned towards her blonde bestie once again, a desperate look in her eyes. "What do I need to do?" she asked._

 _Brynn arched a golden, manicured eyebrow at that question. "Excuse me?" she returned flatly. Was Maddie really asking her what Brynn thought she was asking her?_

 _"What do I need to do to get Loki's attention?" Maddie pressed._

 _"Maddie, you_ **got** _Loki's attention," Brynn stated. "That's why he avoids you." It was a harsh truth, but it was still the truth. The blonde briefly wondered at the back of her mind if maybe she should have phrased it differently, more kindly, but she'd never been like that with anyone. And Maddie had never liked to be patronized._

 _"But I don't want him to_ **avoid** _me—I want him to_ **like** _me!"_

 _"As you've already told me._ **Many** _times."_

 _"Then_ **help** _me!"_

 _Brynn gave her friend an incredulous look. It had never been a secret that Maddie was pretty much in love with Loki but begging for help seemed a little over the top. Begging was something Brynn herself was more prone to do, not Maddie. "Maddie, I am_ **not** _going to help you," she stated firmly, "and that's final."_

 _"But why?" Maddie whined, all but sinking to her knees on the floor._

 _Her best friend started counting off on her fingers. "One) Loki is a millennia old god and you're the same age as me; not only is that creepy and gross it is_ **highly** _illegal. I have no intentions of putting my brother in jail—his very presence on Earth is basically parole already. Two) I can't get Loki to like you no matter how hard I try; he is completely in charge of who he likes and doesn't like. The only person who can change his opinion is you and, even then, I guarantee he wouldn't like you in the way you want him to. And three)_ **He's my brother** _, Maddie. You didn't help Caitlyn get with Sean, so why would I help you get with Loki? The idea is gross."_

 _"Oh, come on, Brynn!"_

 _"No, Maddie."_

 _"Brynn—"_

 _"Maddie…."_

 _"Please!"_

 _"No! And I mean it, Maddie."_

 _Maddie could see the stone in Brynn's blue-gray eyes, the adamancy of her set jaw, the furrow in her brows—she knew that face; Brynn wasn't about to budge. This battle was lost. The brunette couldn't help but feel disheartened at this. Brynn was her best shot and winning Loki's favor, but, since she refused to help, Maddie was back at square one, straggling around for an idea._

 _Her dismay must have showed on her face because Brynn's unyielding expression softened and turned sorrowful as she placed a hand on Maddie's shoulder. "Oh, Maddie," she sighed, shaking her head, "just let it go. Loki's not the one—it's not worth it."_

 _Those exact words were what Maddie needed to stoke the fire for her determination. Her resolve bolstered, the teen adopted her friend's previous expression of stoniness and stated, "No. No I'm not gonna give up—not yet."_

 _Brynn's eyes widened in terror. "Maddie, no," she said cautiously._

 _Maddie just smirked devilishly and quirked an eyebrow. "Maddie, yes."_

And from that day on, Maddie had stuck to her word and made it her mission to gain Loki's attention and affections. How she would succeed she wasn't sure, because Loki seemed to have mastered the art of avoiding and ignoring her, but she would do it! This she vowed. And, just as she'd declared it to Brynn, she would try every last trick in the book….

* * *

Everyone had nervous ticks. Maddie's brother, Sean, was like their mother and tapped out a rhythm with his fingers when he was nervous. Maddie was like her father, meaning that she absently paced in a small circle as she chewed her fingernails when she was nervous. And if what was making her nervous was something she had to do, the sixteen-year-old went over the activity in her head again and again until it became like a routine with all possible outcomes and paths considered.

Maddie had never done either of these things more fervently than she was at that very moment. Hidden in the stage wings of their school auditorium at their community wide talent show, she awaited her turn to go on stage and perform. No wait had ever been so agonizing.

It wasn't so much the fact that she had to perform that was making Maddie nervous (she'd signed up for this after all), it was the fact of who she was performing **_for_**. Sticking true to her vow, Maddie had dedicated this performance to Loki and she needed it to go perfectly. There'd be no way he could look away or say 'no' to this kind of romancing! Not as long as she got everything right. But it **_had_** to go right! And Maddie was more known for her brains, not any kind of stage performance ability.

Maddie was in the middle of going over her routine for about the millionth time that night when all of a sudden a couple arms were slung around her shoulders. She nearly jumped a mile out of her skin. Looking to the left and right the brunette was met with the familiar, mischievous smiles of her two best friends, Brynn and Caitlyn. "Jesus!" she gasped. "You guys scared me!"

"I think someone needs to get out of her head a little bit," Brynn remarked with a giggle.

"Yeah, come on, Maddie, relax a little bit," Caitlyn added. "There's nothing to worry about—I'm sure you'll do fine."

"You don't know that for sure," Maddie whimpered, looking nervously down at her feet. She tried to stop one of them from tapping.

"Maddie, believe us," Brynn tried to reassure her friend, "when it comes to performance it always ends up going better than you actually think it will."

"Exactly," Caitlyn agreed, giving Maddie a comforting squeeze. "Trust us, Maddie, we know theater; we know what we're talking about."

"O-Okay," Maddie gulped. She didn't want to mention that, while the girls were probably right about her performance going better than she feared it would, it was more a question that it would go good enough to get Loki's attention that concerned her.

"So relax," Brynn said, going behind Maddie and starting to massage her shoulders. "Breathe. And stop thinking so much. And, ya know, if you do mess up or something, Devon's up in the light booth and will kill the lights to save you too much humiliation."

"Aaand I'm freaking out again!" Maddie squeaked, burying her face in her hands.

Scowling at Brynn, Caitlyn swiped the blonde up the back of the head.

"Ow!" Brynn rubbed her cranium.

"Way to go, Goldilocks," Caitlyn growled, crossing her arms. "Real good."

"What?" Brynn asked incredulously. "I was just ribbing her a little."

Caitlyn was ready to snap something back when her attention was suddenly drawn back further into the wing. "Hey, Loki," she greeted the oncoming god.

Maddie's head shot up out of her hands and she froze. Loki was back here? Why? Why was he back here? He wasn't supposed to be back here! What was going on?! Normally Maddie would have turned around and tried to flirt with Loki, but as the situation stood, with all the stress she was feeling at the moment, the only thing the poor girl could do was stand there rigid and silent until she finally managed to force herself to turn. It was a massive challenge.

Standing there in the gloom of the backstage and dressed in his black, green, and gold Asgardian garb, Loki looked as magnificent and handsome as always. Even more so, as the Asgardian dress did truly make him look entirely god-like. (Which Maddie guessed was the whole purpose to it.) Loki nodded with a smile as he returned Caitlyn's greeting; "Hello, Ms. Willis." Then he turned his attention to Brynn.

Smiling, the blonde moved towards him and embraced him. "Cuttin' it a little close there, Merlin," she remarked.

"I'm here, am I not?" Loki responded. The god gave the girl a quick, one-armed hug, as he wasn't the fondest of making large displays of affection in such a public place, even despite the cover of darkness the backstage area granted. However, he did allow his lips to brush Brynn's forehead ever so slightly.

Catching that miniscule act, Maddie couldn't help but feel longing and slight jealousy. What she wouldn't give to have Loki do that to her. In a completely different context of course.

"And, ya know," Brynn went on as she pulled back from the hug and gazed up into this face with a smirk, "you're not **_actually_** supposed to be back here; this area is for performers and stage crew, **_not_** audience members." The girl patted Loki's chest to indicate that the Asgardian was, in fact, classified as an audience member.

A look of mock offense crossed the chaos god's angular face, his brilliant green eyes shining with mischief through the dark. "Well, if that's how you feel about it, then fine," he responded. "I'll simply take my leave, then. See if I ever come to greet you first thing upon my arrival from Asgard again." He turned and made to leave, drawing some awed attention from the other talent show participants in that section of the wing.

"Make sure you change before you join the audience," she called after him. "You'll freak people out otherwise."

Loki playfully glowered back over his shoulder at the teenager. "Insufferable brat," he growled.

Brynn simply grinned back. "Crazy bastard who thinks he's a god," she returned.

The god's face changed from a good-natured glare into a soft, loving smile. A second later he'd vanished.

"You guys actually still call each other that?" Caitlyn laughed, looking over at Brynn in some disbelief.

Brynn gave a lop-sided smile and shrugged. "Some things never change," she commented.

It was at this point that Ms. Calhoun, the drama teacher, came towards the girls, marking something on her clipboard. "Okay, Caitlyn, Brynn, you girls are on." She looked away from her clipboard then and smiled expectantly at the girls. "Are you ready?"

"Born ready," Cait and Brynn answered in unison.

"All right then," Ms. Calhoun laughed as the pair made their way towards the light of the stage through the curtains. The red-haired woman then turned to address Maddie. "You're on after them, Ms. Asher," she informed the girl, not on a first-name basis with Maddie as she was with the other girls.

Maddie managed to weak smile. "Thank you, Ms. Calhoun," she managed to peep.

Apparently sensing her terror, Ms. Calhoun reached out and squeezed the teen's shoulder with a warm, gentle, friendly hand. "You'll do just fine," she murmured encouragingly.

Maddie nodded and the woman moved on. "I hope you're right," she muttered under her breath. The brunette turned back to watch her friends perform. Closing her eyes, she tried to do as her blonde friend had suggested and "get out of her head" a bit. She tried to focus on the sounds of Brynn and Caitlyn's voices blending together as they belted out their due: They sounded great! She tried to imagine them acting and dancing on stage in the way she'd seen them do so many times in practice. But she couldn't quite keep her focus on either; her mind kept drifting back to her own routine and drilling it into her head. First do this. Then do that. Make sure you don't miss this. And if you screw this part up, that's it, you're done—so don't miss it!

Maddie was so busy freaking out while trying not to freak out that she didn't even notice Brynn and Caitlyn had finished their performance until she felt their hands on her shoulders. She snapped back to the moment and focused in on their grinning faces. The sound of loud applause and cheers could be clearly heard.

Maddie forced a smile. "Great job, girls!" she congratulated them, though she hadn't really been listening. "You were amazing!"

"Thanks, Maddie," the girls panted at the same time.

All at once two roses, one coral and one white, appeared in a crystal vase at the girls' feet. Chuckling and shaking her head, Brynn bent down and grabbed the vase up of the floor. Then she held it in one hand as she rested the other on her hip. "Looks like Loki thought we did a pretty good job too," she remarked as she shook the vase under Caitlyn's nose.

Cait snorted as she took her white rose.

A slight wave of relief washed over Maddie and she smiled. Good. She was going on after a good act, a good act that had put Loki in a good—and hopefully more receptive—mood. That was a little less pressure for her.

Ms. Calhoun was suddenly back. "You're on, Ms. Asher."

"Right," Maddie said, bison stampeding around her stomach and chest and arms and legs and every single body part she possessed.

"You got this, Maddie," Brynn encouraged her.

"Knock 'em dead!" Caitlyn cheered.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Maddie started to long walk out of the dark wings onto the brightly lit stage. She was blinded and disoriented by the light change for a brief second, but the brunette quickly regained her bearings and made her way to the mic stand at the center of the stage. Maddie slipped the cordless mic out of its holder. As she did this she cast her gaze out to the seating area, but she found that, except for the first five rows or so, she couldn't really see anybody out in the audience. And she definitely couldn't spot Loki. She felt a little more relief from this fact, because if she couldn't see him she wouldn't get distracted by him and mess up. She was also thankful for the fact that her parents hadn't been able to make it to the show tonight, as they both had to work late. They didn't need to see what she was about to do: Especially her dad. And as for her brother, Maddie could easily handle whatever Sean said to her after her performance; she'd already been doing that for her entire life anyway.

But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Now was the time to put on a show! A show that would catch Loki's attention and make him see that what she felt was real and true and make him realize that he felt the same way too! Hopefully….

Clearing her throat, Maddie took a change to address the audience. "Um, before I start, I'd just like to say something," she announced into the microphone, her amplified voice ringing around the auditorium. "I'm not going to say his name, but there's a certain, special guy that I'd like to dedicate this song too. I hope he enjoys it and… comes to know how I feel."

A slight "aww" murmured through the crowd.

Maddie looked up towards the light booth and slightly nodded, giving the signal for the song to start. She waited, but the music didn't start. Clearing her throat and giving a significant look up to the booth again she murmured, "Music, please."

The music started that time, but it seemed to do so hesitantly.

A syncopated drumbeat started playing and a second later a strolling guitar came into the music and Maddie closed her eyes and started moving and swaying to the beat, counting down the time it took for the first stanza of lyrics to come in. She let herself slip into her character and waited.

 **NOW!**

Eyes snapping open, Maddie grinned and started chanting in time to the beat: "Hush, hush, hush. Blush, blush, blush. You are now my big fat crush!" The teen started dancing across the stage as she continued to sing on. Everything was going well; even the parts where she'd opted to change some of the lyrics to make it a bit more family friendly ("bitch" to "chick" and "I got a big fat ass" to "I got a lot of sass" and "fuck me" to "kiss me") went over well and didn't sound completely forced. In fact, it wasn't until the middle of the song where the lyrics were supposed to drop off for a moment and she did a little dance routine that things went haywire.

With no warning the lights went out, causing an alarmed commotion to ring through the crowd. Maddie barely had time to register what had happened when she felt herself being tackled and forced off stage into the opposite wing. "What the—" a hand clamped over her mouth cutting her off.

"Hush!" Brynn's voice hissed. "Make one peep and, so help me, Maddie, I'm gonna knock **_you_** dead!"

It took a moment for Maddie's eyes to adjust to the darkness again, but when they finally did, she was met with the unpleasant sight of a very pissed off looking Brynn glaring daggers at her. If looks could kill, Maddie definitely would have perished right there.

Beyond Brynn's scowling face the lights for the stage had come back on again and Caitlyn was standing out in the center of stage with the mic. She was addressing the crowd. "And that was a segment from the sketch '101 Things **_Not_** to do for a Talent Show'. What did you think of that, folks? Let's give Madelyn Asher a round of applause for that fine acting, huh? Whoo!" The black haired girl started clapping and soon enough the whole audience was clapping and cheering and laughing as well, apparently having bought into the ploy that what they'd just witnessed **_had_** been a sketch.

Maddie pulled her eyes away from her one friend to focus back on the other, whose face hadn't softened in the slightest. "Brnn?" she mumbled through a mouthful of hand. The brunette swallowed hard. She didn't like the look on Brynn's face in the least bit—it literally terrified her.

Brynn rumbled just loudly enough for Maddie to hear, "You know, for a brainy girl, you pulled the stupidest-ass move I've ever seen in my life tonight. Just be happy you were smart enough to not actually say his name or you'd be in worse hot water."

Maddie tried to speak again but Brynn clamped her hand down tighter. "Ah-ah, shhh! No. No more talking, Maddie. You've done enough damage for tonight—just shut up."

Maddie tried again and Brynn's hand constricted to the point it actually kind of hurt. "Maddie," Brynn warned, "no."


	5. Until the Realms Tumble Down

Until The Realms Tumble Down (pt. 1)

Need to know(s): This is half of a two-parter-it will go along with the next ficlet I post up (not sure when that will come out). Also takes place in between the end of the main story I'm writing and Brynn's sixteenth birthday, which is why she's fifteen here. I can't reveal much else without getting into big spoiler territory.

Also, itty-bitty, petty need to know here—Loki is no telepath, but he does share a telepathic link with Brynn, and only Brynn. However, it's only because of a bracelet—you might remember mention of it back in 'Sick Days'. This will be further explained in the actual story. And as for why it's not here will be explained in both the story and probably in a future ficlet. But the fact remains it's missing here and that's why there's no telepathic link.

Also, admittedly written because I needed some serious fluff in my life at the moment. Everything else I'm working on right now, so far, IS NOT FLUFFY AND CUTE. And I just needed a fluff high, okay? Don't judge!

Theme song: _Now You're a Home ~_ Christian Reindl ft. Ruuth

Characters: Brynn and Loki

Rating: T (language)

Genre: Family, Friendship

Summary: It's time for Loki and Brynn to return to Midgard after their recovery period in Asgard. But, as always, uncertainties face them upon their return. Sensing Brynn's worries, Loki takes the time to remind the girl of the vow he's made and intends to keep.

* * *

"This may very well be conjecture, but I do believe you've picked out enough books, Brynna May," Loki called up to the top of the ladder where the girl in question was currently perched. The two of them had been in the extensive library of the Asgardian palace for the last hour or so, scouring the shelves for anything Brynn wanted to read. Ever since the thwarting of the coup for the Asgardian throne, this room had very nearly become the permanent camp of the Migardian girl as she strove to devour every last interesting looking text, tome, and story she could manage to find. And there were many. In two and a half weeks she'd managed to work through a decent sized stack for a human: It had been an excellent distraction from all the time she'd spent away from Loki while he worked to help Thor rebuild from the battle. But there were still so many books Brynn wanted to read, so many stories she wanted to know! The library was absolutely huge: She'd barely even made it off of one shelf and there were literally miles of books! And scrolls! And parchments! There was more to read here than the fifteen-year-old would ever be able to read in her lifetime, but she wanted to get to as much of it as she could. And now they were leaving it all behind! She wouldn't make much progress that way.

Scoffing incredulously, Brynn scowled down from her perch at the god. "There's no such thing as enough books, Loks," she stated, waving the leather-bound tome in her hand for emphasis. "You, above all people, know that!"

Loki chuckled good-naturedly and crossed his arms as he smirked up at her. "Perhaps there's no such thing as enough books to **_read_** ," he returned, "but there is such a thing as enough books to **_carry_**. Or that will fit in your room." He glanced over at one of the tables in the library, where a substantial tower of books sat waiting to be packed up. "Besides, it's not as if you won't be coming back here, Princess," he told her, looking back to her again. "My brother has requested that I remain an integral seat on the Council—we will be returning."

"Yeah, but who knows when that will be? I wanna be prepared for the in-between times!"

"Brynn, you **_do_** realize that I would be more than willing to bring you back to pick another book whenever you desire it?"

Brynn paused half-way to the book she'd been reaching for and slightly pulled her hand back. Looking back down the ladder, she gave her adopted brother a calculating look. "Really?" she asked.

Loki chuckled. "Of course, Princess," he assured her. Placing his hand over his heart and bowing his head slightly, he added, "You have my word."

Well… that certainly did change things a little. "Well…" Brynn murmured, gaze slowly shifting over to her book tower, "… I guess… I don't have to take **_all_** of those then." Even though she **_really_** did want to. "Maybe I could just take two or three… or four…."

"How about we just pick out three for now?" Loki suggested. "That should be more than enough, shouldn't it?"

"… Yeah…." Brynn answered hesitantly. It definitely would be more than enough for now, not to mention much more manageable for the time being. And like Loki said, she could always come back to get more when she wanted to: For most intents and purposes, this place was going to end up being her home too.

"But?" Loki questioned, sensing the teen's hesitation.

"But… it's **_books_** , Loki," Brynn said, softly and meekly. She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "It's **_books_**."

The raven-haired man smiled softly, his emerald eyes shining warmly at his adopted sister. "I know, Love," he murmured. "Believe me, no one knows better than I do. But they will be here waiting for you the next time. And should they not be, I will do everything I can to track them down for you. I promise."

Brynn deliberated a second longer before finally conceding. "Fine," she sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. She put the two books she pulled from the shelves away again and scaled down the ladder. Five minutes later they were exiting the library, Loki carrying the two largest of the three books Brynn had decided on and Brynn carrying the third.

The fifteen-year-old scowled up out of the corner of her eye at the trickster. "You made me choose," she grumbled crossly. "You know I don't like choosing between books."

Loki simply chuckled. "And that, my dear," he replied, smiling down at her, "is part of why you make me the happiest guardian in the realms." It was true; their shared loved of books and knowledge was one of the many reasons that the two of them found happiness together. While they enjoyed doing many things together, the duo was never more content than if they sat down and enjoyed a book of some kind together. There was just something magical about it. Of course, it had taken quite a bit of time to finally discover that useful little bit of information. "If only we'd known that early on in our relationship," the god remarked further with a sly sneer. "It could have saved the both of us so much time and grief; you might not have been such an impudent little terror."

"Hardy-har-har," Brynn countered, smirking back and sticking out her tongue. "And **_you_** might not have been such a pretentious ass."

"Hmm, what's that phrase you Midgardians have? Ah, yes. I believe it takes one to know one, Human."

"Ah, well, that's a wonderful thing to admit about yourself, Viking Boy."

Rolling his eyes with a snort, the God of Mischief reached a hand out and playfully shoved his charge, earning a return shove as she quickly came back and forcefully bumped into his side. Loki chuckled and reached out to wrap an arm around her. "You incorrigible little scamp," he lovingly murmured, and pulled her to his side. He grinned down at her.

Brynn beamed back up at him, raising a roguish eyebrow as she did. " ** _Your_** incorrigible little scamp," she reminded him.

Loki could only smile warmly at that as he gazed fondly at the child. "Yes," he agreed quietly, " ** _my_** incorrigible little scamp." Well, not quite yet, she wasn't; that arrangement was still being finalized along with the terms for Loki's probation on Earth and that was all still in S.H.I.E.L.D's hands at the moment. The agency's handling of everything concerning the trickster god's relocation to Earth had been the only way for the custody matter to even be considered. It wasn't as if anyone was thrilled with the idea of a god who had previously gone on a psychopathic campaign to take over the world—killing several dozens of people, playing mind games with some of said world's greatest heroes, and unleashing an alien threat onto one of its largest cities in the process—now taking up extended residency on that same world, much less having sole guardianship a young human girl. No matter how much he'd changed.

Loki couldn't help but lament that, had S.H.I.E.L.D never found out about his being on Earth, the whole process would have been finalized by now. He and Brynn would have been living happily and peacefully on her family's farm, worrying about nothing but the beautifully mundane tasks of living normal lives of Migardians. But S.H.I.E.L.D **_had_** found out about Loki—found out about **_Brynn_** —and suddenly—and rather irritatingly—they'd had to play by a different rules. The god knew that was his fault and felt guilty for it. Had he done some things differently in his past—taken a different mindset—he'd have never been put into a position where he'd been able to be manipulated into going after the Tesseract and waging war on Earth; and if he'd never done that, he wouldn't have been viewed as a dangerous threat to the planet now; and if he wasn't viewed as that, he'd have been able to take custody of Brynn without a problem, and there wouldn't be all this worry for her about whether he was going to be taken away from her or not.

That was what hurt the man the most: Brynn's fear of not being with him. The girl had a deep-seated fear of only one thing, and that was being left alone. Far too many people that she'd trusted and held dear to her heart had left her, whether it was by simply walking out of her life or succumbing to the inevitable Midgardian curse of death, and the fifteen-year-old had been left deeply scarred by every loss. And because he was now at the center of her life, the fear mainly revolved around him.

Loki could still remember the first few weeks after the death of Daniel—Brynn's grandfather—when he had become her soul source of perpetual comfort, support, and companionship. The god had already begun to consider the child family by that time, and he was certain Brynn had felt mutually. There had been more than a handful of nights where he'd stretched out beside the girl in bed, at her request, to keep away the fears and nightmares of waking up to find no one there anymore. And during the days that followed those nights, Brynn had spent as much time as possible in Loki's presence, too afraid to let him leave her line of vision for long.

"You're not gonna leave, right?" she'd asked several times a day for weeks.

"No," he'd assured her each time. "I'm not going to leave."

"Never?" she'd always pressed cautiously, giving him the most heartbreaking expression of pain, fear, and desperation.

"Not ever," he'd always stated with gentle adamancy.

Some of the fear would leave Brynn's eyes with that declaration, but she'd always asked one more time: "You'll stay?"

And with that he'd always reached out and tenderly stroked her face or taken her hand in his before replying, "Until the realms tumble down."

And to that vow, Loki was determined to hold. Whatever happened with S.H.I.E.L.D's decision, whatever stringent demands they asked of him, he would follow no matter how infuriating and restrictive they might be, because it would mean keeping that vow. But should they decide to ignore the custody request, the god was just as prepared to do whatever it took to fight for his guardianship of the girl. Nothing would cause him to break the vows he'd made to both Brynn and her grandfather. Absolutely nothing.

" _My incorrigible little scamp_ ," the god repeated to himself, pressing a kiss to Brynn's crown.

Brynn couldn't help but giggle. "Ya know," she remarked slyly, "you should really be more careful. Somebody might catch you being affectionate if you're not careful." She gasped over-dramatically and her eyes widened in mock fear as she added, "What would the guards think? Imagine the gossip!" She snickered at the wry smirk her brother shot her way at her teasing. It wasn't that Loki particularly despised being affectionate or was even embarrassed or uncomfortable with displaying affection towards her in public: They'd held hands in the presence of others, shared hugs, and Loki had even dared to leave brief, almost-hidden kisses to her brow while with company. He just simply preferred to keep the extent of their bond private.

To be honest, Brynn preferred to keep everything on the down low as well. For one, as Loki had pointed out to her once, keeping public knowledge about their relationship to a minimum was the best way to protect each other. Considering Loki's past, as well as who and what he was, it went without say he had more than a few enemies that would jump at the chance to hurt or control him should it come their way. If they knew just how close the two of them were, it would be a no brainer for them to use Brynn against the god, and Brynn had no desire to be used against her brother. For two, it was simply nobody else's business. Nobody else had any right to know what went on between them or how deep their feelings were for each other. Nobody needed to know how much Loki loved Brynn except Brynn; and nobody needed to know how much Brynn loved Loki except Loki. (Though it honestly wasn't that hard to tell—anyone with half a working brain would have been able to see the devotion and care the pair had.) All anyone else needed to know was that they were family and they were happy together.

All at once, Loki pulled the child a bit closer to him, alarming her just the slightest bit. "Perhaps it's a good idea that I have a plan to distract them from my affectionate displays, then," he remarked dangerously, his smirk turning evil. "No one will take any notice of them because they will be far too busy witnessing just how ticklish you are! Ha-ha!"

"No-ho! Loki!" Brynn squealed and shrieked and tried to wrestle her way out of the god's tight grip, but it was no use. Even with one arm, Loki was incredibly strong and had her locked against him. The teenager was trapped and simply had to endure the long fingers that were digging into her ribs and tummy. "Okay!" the blonde finally cried as tears began to well in her eyes. "Oka-hay! Uncle! **_Uncle!_** "

And with that, Loki ceased his assault and Brynn slumped against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You…" she wheezed, "are such… a jackass."

The man chuckled in amusement as he soothingly rubbed the girl's quivering back. "I must admit to being many things, Princess," he conceded, "but I'm afraid a donkey has never been one of them."

Brynn rolled her eyes at that and shoved her face into the god's shoulder. She lightly pounded her free fist against his chest as she made an annoyed sound that was half heavy sigh and half groan. "I hate you," she growled.

"Oh! Is it Opposite Day, then?"

That time Brynn pushed away from Loki and gave him a half-hearted glare as she struggled to keep her lips from curling into a smile. She punched his shoulder. "Smart-ass."

Loki smirked mischievously, emerald eyes glittering as they met hers. " ** _Your_** smart-ass," he declared.

Just as he had done at her statement earlier, Brynn smiled tenderly with those words. Warmth crept into her blue-gray eyes. "Yeah," she murmured as a slight blush colored her cheeks. " ** _My_** smart-ass." Without thinking the girl stepped towards the Asgardian and pressed her right hand flat over his heart. Her own heart melted as she saw that devious glint in Loki's gaze immediately change into pure happiness in response to her action. Or rather, in response to what it meant.

That gaze. That had to be what Thor meant when he'd talked to her. "I have seen Loki at his best and at his worst," he'd said. "I have seen him happy, distraught, and angry. I have seen much hate in his eyes, but I have seen much love in them as well. When it comes to you, Child… I don't remember a time I have seen such adoration nor such joy alight in my brother's gaze. It rivals a thousand suns."

 _Rivals a thousand suns…._

Thor had under-exaggerated. The look in Loki's eyes right now rivaled at least two thousand suns, and Brynn never wanted it to go out. To think she was the one that could make a god—not just any god, but the God of Mischief and Prince of Asgard—look like this. She was the one that made him this happy. By just being there; by just loving him; by just **_telling_** him she loved him. By just being his sister. Brynn just hoped more than anything the man could see that he made her just as happy as she made him.

"I can, Brynn," Loki murmured, assuring her silent wish.

The girl's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't read minds," she stated. "How-"

"I don't have to have telepathy in order to read **_your_** thoughts, Princess," the man chuckled softly. "You are an open book to me." Love sparkling in his green eyes more brilliantly than ever before, Loki reached up and touched Brynn's face, stroking her cheek with long, slender, callused fingers before cupping it in his palm. "And believe me—I'm so very happy that I make you so happy."

"Happier than I thought I could be," Brynn declared and she turned her face into the warm softness of her brother's palm. " _Let's just hope that means something to S.H.I.E.L.D._ " Even though she had no desire to ruin the moment, the teen was unable to keep the rueful thought away, and her smile slipped away with its arrival. It was amazing. Just a year ago, Loki hadn't even been a thought in her head, and now he was very much front and center in her life: She couldn't imagine life without him now. She truly had no desire to. And the thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. could make that unpleasant what-if an actual reality terrified and sickened her to no end.

Apparently having seen something in her face again, Loki pulled the fifteen-year-old closer and pressed his forehead to hers. His gaze locked with hers. His hand slowly slipped from her cheek down to her chest to press flat over her heart, just as hers was over his, assuring her of the same silent message that she had assured him of: _I love you._

And with that, the fear of S.H.I.E.L.D and what they could potentially do, the fear of a possible life without Loki, receded back into the far, dark corners of Brynn's mind and was replaced with utter love and warmth and happiness once again. The girl's eyes drifted shut as her mouth curled into a smile again. "You're not gonna leave, right?" she asked.

"No," he answered. "I'm not going to leave."

"Never?"

"Not ever."

"You'll stay?"

Suddenly Loki's hand wasn't pressed to her chest anymore. Instead it was grabbing for her hand resting on his chest, entwining their fingers together, and squeezing tight. "Until the realms tumble down, Little Sister."


	6. Until the Realms Tumble Down pt 2

Until The Realms Tumble Down (pt. 2)

Need to know(s): the second half of the two-parter. Remember, takes Place in between the end of the main story I'm writing and Brynn's sixteenth birthday, which is why she's fifteen here.

I feel like I should discuss some of my rules and headcanons for Loki here, since this is where some of them really do start to make an appearance. Let's cover the main culprits in this ficlet for now.

\- Loki uses magic to keep himself looking like a normal Asgardian, much Like how Mystique in _X-Men First Class_ uses her powers to look like a normal woman as opposed to her true form. My headcanon is that Odin originally cast the spell upon Loki when he found him as a baby, Loki broke the spell when he used the Casket of Ancient Winters on Heimdall, and now uses the spell himself to look normal. It's kind of like a glamor spell I guess, but it literally changes his eye color and skin tone, instead of just masking it. It's also basically continuous, but it can, has, and does break from time to time, usually when Loki has decided to let it. And since it is something he has total control over, he can let it slip by degrees instead of completely breaking as well.

\- Loki has, can, and sometimes does use his Frost Giant powers. It just doesn't happen a lot, mainly because it's just not what he's used to.

\- Also just another little concept to clear up: I know I call Loki Asgardian most of the time when he is, in fact, Jotun. I do this because of Loki's current state of mind in these stories. At this point, Loki sees himself more Asgardian the Jotun: He was raised Asgardian, taught Asgardian things, Looks Asgardian over 90% of the time, lived on Asgard all his life, adopted by the Asgardian royal family, knows nothing else but Asgardian everything—he is, for most intents and purposes, an Asgardian. Again, He very rarely does much with his Jotun side, not necessarily because he's ashamed of it at this point, but because it's not how he was raised or sees himself. So because he sees himself as Asgardian and Brynn sees him as Asgardian, I see him as Asgardian. Fair?

Theme song: _Now You're a Home ~_ Christian Reindl ft. Ruuth

Characters: Brynn, Loki, Thor, Nick Fury, various OCs

Rating: T (language)

Genre: Family, Friendship

Summary: Upon their return home, Loki and Brynn discover that S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the cusp of making the decision that will seal the fate of their future. The question of whether it's going to be a single future or two separate ones remains.

* * *

"O-okay…"Brynn mumbled, sounding dazed and looking rather dizzy as she clung to Loki, who held her in his arms, "… that felt… **_really_** weird…."

The god snickered as he watched the girl gaze around as though she were inebriated. "Can you now see why I insisted upon carrying you?" he inquired. Back in the Bifrost the pair had argued regarding whether Brynn should traverse the rainbow bridge on her own or whether Loki should carry her through it. Loki had pointed out that the experience of traveling through the Bifrost for the first time could be extremely intense for an Asgardian, let alone a Midgardian. Not to mention the fact that Brynn was still recovering from the battle to overthrow the coup. Brynn had pointed out that she wasn't a little girl, and, despite being a human, was neither weak nor frail. She'd also reminded the man that it had been two and a half weeks since the battle, and she'd been told by the healers that she'd made a full recovery from her wounds, despite how Loki remained worried over it. And what about **_his_** recovery from the battle? He'd been hurt as well! Wouldn't the trip put a strain on him, too, especially if he was carrying her?

It had taken a good fifteen to twenty minutes before Brynn had finally, however begrudgingly, relented. To be honest Loki was rather amazed that the teen had given in at all, as she was usually quite stubborn when trying to get her way, especially when it came to any such situation that could cause her embarrassment, and took it as a sign that he was right in his conclusion that she was still recovering. He also had a slight suspicion it had something to do with the stress over what was potentially awaiting them with S.H.I.E.L.D. Whatever the reason, Brynn just didn't seem to have it in her to put up a good argument with him at the moment and, frankly, Loki was a bit pleased by that. He was quickly discovering that arguing with a teenaged girl never got easier—even when she no longer despised you. So anything that shortened their arguments was welcome.

Besides, he was right anyway.

Brynn blushed as she looked back at the god with an indignant scowl. Or as indignant of a scowl as she could muster up; she was still a bit stunned from the journey through the bridge. "Just because I understand it now, doesn't mean I'm any happier about it," she pointed out. "You carried me like I was a baby in front of Mr. Freaky Eyes."

"Heimdall," Loki corrected as he gave the girl a scolding look. "I'm not the fondest of the man, but he does deserve respect. And believe me when I say that I'm certain this was hardly the first time he's seen me carry you: He can see nearly everything occurring on Midgard, so I'm sure he's witnessed me carrying you around before."

That didn't seem to appease the teen, as her glower only deepened and her face flushed redder. "That doesn't make it better," she hissed.

Loki simply smirked and rolled his eyes with a snort. "Well, we're home now," he stated. "If you wish for him to bear witness to your humiliation no longer, why haven't you attempted to stand on your own?"

Brynn narrowed her eyes at the man, not appreciating his teasing. As if feeling utterly helpless in front of Heimdall hadn't been enough…. "Fine," she snarled. "I'll get down then." With that she scrambled and pushed her way out of her brother's arms, only to promptly fall rather inelegantly to the ground. "Oof!" The girl shook off her daze and stood again. She brushed herself off before turning her gaze back to Loki and giving him a firm and confident nod before spinning on a heel and marching away. Or at least, she attempted to march away. After turning to leave, Brynn was suddenly overcome with another rush of dizziness and she stumbled back. "Whoa-oh!"

Ever protective and faithful, Loki caught the child before she fell. "Easy," he warned her. "Don't move quite so quickly yet. Your bearings are still settling from the journey through the bridge."

Squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head in an attempt to make the world stop spinning, Brynn muttered, "I don't think I like the Rainbow Bridge." She dared to open her eyes again and was thankful to find the world settling back to normal around her. The girl looked up to meet her brother's emerald gaze. "Is this how it'll be **_every_** time?"

Loki smiled. "It will be easier to endure once you have completely recovered your strength," he assured her. The god helped the teen stand up straight again, keeping a cautious hand around her arm in case she should stumble or fall again. "Do you think you can manage on your own now?" he questioned as he carefully looked her over.

Brynn was quiet for a moment as she did some self-checking. The world wasn't moving, she didn't feel quite as shaky, but with her luck that probably wouldn't matter and she'd still fall flat on her face if she tried to walk on her own again. "Um…" she cleared her throat, feeling embarrassed about what she was about to admit, "… it might not be the worst idea if, uh… i-if you help me." She couldn't stop her voice from turning into a soft, awkward mutter as she said this. Nor could she keep the glaring blush from her face. All the blonde could do was keep her eyes turned stubbornly forward and refuse to meet her guardian's tickled gaze.

Loki chuckled at the girl, clearly seeing how hard she was trying to hide her shame. The Asgardian bowed his head and kissed the crown of the child's head, overcome by either a brotherly urge to deepen her embarrassment or simply because Brynn charmed him so, he wasn't sure. "You are utterly adorable," he declared with all sincerity.

"That's kind of a weird thing to say."

"And why is that?"

"Our relationship."

"You're claiming a brother shouldn't be able to pronounce that his adorable baby sister is, in fact, adorable?"

Brynn whipped around to give the god an indignant look. "Well, maybe if she's **_actually_** a baby. But I'm not a baby—I'm almost sixteen!"

Loki snickered. "Compared to me," he remarked mischievously, "that **_does_** make you a baby, Brynn."

His charge perched a fist on her hip and gave him a flat stare. "Yeah, well, compared to you, **_Grandpa_** was a baby," she said. "So that's not really sayin' much, Merlin."

"Nevertheless," Loki insisted, that irksome smile never leaving his lips.

Brynn rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the scalding heat in her face. "Let's just go inside, okay?" she huffed, lowering her head so her hair hid her beet red face.

Chuckling softly, Loki wrapped an arm around the girl and gave her a small squeeze before leading her towards the house, making sure to keep a careful hold on her so that she wouldn't fall in case she became dizzy again. "You know I only tease you because you're my little sister," he murmured. As much as he enjoyed getting Brynn's goat from time to time, and despite how the girl could usually handle what he dished out and deliver it back to him, the god also realized that she could be rather sensitive about some topics. He was also aware that being viewed as strong and capable was one of these topics.

"I know," Brynn muttered back. And she **_did_** know that.

"And you know I don't think of you as an infant."

"I know."

"… But you do realize just how cute you are, do you not?"

At that, Brynn raised her head and gave her brother an impish smirk. "Duh," she replied. "That was key in charming you into my trap after all."

"Your **_trap_**?" Loki repeated, looking skeptically amused.

"Mm-hmm."

"And what kind of trap might that be?"

"One that ensnares you and leaves you at the mercy of my unbelievably cute quirkiness until you either die from the sweetness of it or fall victim to it and convert from the darkness to a place of kittens and rainbows."

Loki burst out laughing. "Oh-ho!" he exclaimed. "So, that's how it worked."

"Well, how else did you think it worked?" Brynn teased.

"Hmm, as I've stated, it's no doubt you're cute. And it goes without say that you are rather quirky and charming."

"Don't forget absolutely gorgeous." Brynn dramatically flipped her golden locks as if to prove her point.

At that Loki raised an eyebrow and smirked. "All right, now," he snorted. "Let's not get too cocky here, Brynna May. I can see I have my work cut out for me in trying to knock the conceitedness…" the god suddenly trailed off and turned his attention towards the house. Stiffening, he instinctively pulled Brynn closer to him and positioned himself between her and the house as a protective barrier.

Alarmed by this, the teenager looked up at the man's once beaming and playful face to see it darkened and hard. "Loki?" Her voice was suddenly at a whisper.

"We're not alone," Loki stated, his voice also quiet.

"What?"

"Someone is here."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but they're in the house."

Heart leaping to her throat, Brynn held on tighter to her guardian, peeking around him at the building before them. Her mind raced along with her heart. Who could possibly be in there? Was it S.H.I.E.L.D. people already ready to hand down their decision? But there weren't any government looking vehicles around, and surely someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. would have arrived in something like that. Was it simple intruders? Had some lowlifes decided to rob and vandalize the house while they'd been away? And then the most terrifying thought occurred to the fifteen-year-old and the bottom dropped out of her stomach as she quivered. What if it was another enemy of Loki's—someone else who wanted to hurt or use him? That last thought had Brynn wrapping her arms around the Asgardian in a protective manner. She wasn't going to let that happen! Whoever was in the house, whatever they wanted with her brother, they'd have to go through her first! (Although, realistically, that probably wouldn't take whoever was in there very long.) "What do we do?" she murmured.

Loki was quiet for a moment, as if planning some sort of strategy, and then he was pulling away from her, much to the girl's dismay. "Wait here," he stated. "I'll investigate." He was quickly stopped by a small hand tightly grabbing his larger one.

"Um, excuse me?" Brynn snorted dubiously.

Loki turned back to give the teen a firm look. "Brynn," he warned.

"I **_know_** you didn't just tell me to wait here **_alone_** while you go on ahead to check it out **_alone_** ," the blonde chided, returning the glower. "I **_know_** you wouldn't say something that stupid—that's just crazy talk."

Loki quietly groaned. He knew what Brynn was getting at, and he acknowledged that—despite her proclivity to be over-dramatic—she had perfectly valid reasons for the way she was feeling and thinking, but the fact remained he was just as fervid to protect her as she was to protect him. He had no idea what was going on here—he didn't know who was in their home and if they posed a threat or not: Unknowns were never very friendly, even less so now that Brynn was in the picture. The god had nearly lost her once already (and rather recently); he wasn't about to let that happen again. "Brynn," he murmured, "I don't know what's happening here-"

"Exactly," the girl cut him off, sounding as if that would end this debate.

"I am not allowing you to enter into a situation we know nothing about!" Loki hissed sternly.

"And I'm not allowing you to go in there alone!" Brynn spat back. "So it looks like we're both up a creek without a paddle, bro."

"Brynna May-"

"I'm not letting you go in there alone, Loki," the blonde stated with finality. The slightest sheen of tears glistened in her eyes, and she blinked to try and keep them back. "I'm not gonna sit back while something bad happens to you. Not again. We're family—we face danger together and we suffer the consequences together." Brynn sniffled and quickly reached up to brush away a single tear that had managed to trickle out of her eye and down the side of her nose. "I'm not gonna have you taken away from me." She couldn't keep her voice from quivering.

Loki's face softened. As much as it hurt, he felt utterly touched that Brynn valued and loved him so much that her greatest fear was losing him. The problem was he had the same fear in reverse. And it was that fear that kept his resolve from breaking completely under the authoritative persuasion of those tears of hers. "And I'm not about to have **_you_** taken from **_me_** ," he stated quietly. The Asgardian found himself squeezing the Midgardian's hand a bit more tightly as he whispered, "Not again."

"And I won't be," Brynn responded adamantly. "Not as long as I'm with you."

Loki was quiet for a long time, simply looking over his little sister and going back and forth between the idea of allowing her to accompany him into an unknown that could possibly mean danger or forcing her to stay while he went on to investigate alone. In truth, neither choice was ideal. If he took Brynn with him, they could very well both be walking into a trap, but at least he'd be right by her side to protect her. If he forced her to stay outside, she might not face danger head on, but there was still a chance that something could happen to her while she was alone, and he might get to her too late if at all. Finally, with a heavy sigh, the god conceded. "All right," he gave in. "But stay behind me."

Unable to help the small smile that curled her lips, Brynn simply nodded.

Loki snapped his fingers and, with a brilliant flash of light, a familiar looking dagger appeared in his hand. "Here," he sighed, holding it out to his charge. "I suppose I **_have_** been teaching you for a reason."

The girl snagged up her dagger without question. Brynn knew if whatever was in the house was anything other than human, she wouldn't have much of a chance against them, but at least this way she wouldn't be completely helpless. Besides, Loki's combat training had gotten her through one battle already. (Okay, so he'd actually done most of the fighting while she provided distraction, and she hadn't exactly come out of the fight unscathed, but still! She'd gotten in a few good attacks.) Who knew? Maybe they could pull her through again.

With both of them now armed and ready as they could be for whatever might await them inside the house, the duo slowly began to approach the door. They remained hand-in-hand, as if assuring each other that they were both still there and they were doing this together.

"Be ready," Loki murmured as they came to the door.

"Right," Brynn responded, tightening her grip on her blade.

There was no countdown, no warning. One second the door was closed and the next it was flying open with Loki's magic. Everything exploded. The lights flashed on with blazing glory, a storm of confetti rained through the air, bright colored streamers and other decorations dazzled the eye. And in the middle of it all was a large, colorfully painted banner hanging from the wall, boasting the phrase "Welcome Home!" upon its face: A phrase that was echoed by a chorus of jovial, friendly voices.

Standing frozen just inside the doorway, Loki and Brynn stared in bewilderment at the colorful chaos before them. It wasn't an ambush—it was a welcome home party! And the intruders were friends: Caitlyn Willis and her parents, Sean and Maddie Asher and their parents, and Devon McCredie and his aunt—everyone that meant anything in the duo's shared life on Earth was there. Of all the things they had been expecting and preparing themselves for to walk in on, this was definitely not on either Brynn's or Loki's list.

An awkward silence fell over the household as the last of the confetti slowly fluttered to the floor. Everyone just stared at each other, more than a few looks being passed over the dagger in Brynn's grip and the glowing, green magic shrouding Loki's free hand. No one seemed to know how to react.

Finally Devon, ever the funny-man of the group of teenagers, capable of making a joke out of even the direst of situations, dared to break the quiet: "Well, this is the last time we ever throw you guys a surprise party then."

* * *

"I just can't believe you actually came through the door with a knife in your hand!" Caitlyn giggled. "Like you were actually gonna stab someone!"

It had been about half an hour now since Brynn and Loki had arrived home and walked in on their surprise welcome home party. After the initial awkwardness of discovering who and what was really going on in the house, everything had settled down and the party had gone underway as expected. Brynn's friends—having not seen her for two weeks—had dragged her off to the living room to catch her up on everything that had been going on in the area while she'd been away. Not to mention interrogate her about everything that had been going on, on her end. They'd asked her about everything from how Thor was getting on as the new Asgardian king, to what it was really like living in Asgard, to if she'd met any cute boys during her stay. (The last inquiry was mainly Maddie's and Cait's.) They truly had more to ask her than she had to ask them. Then again, she'd been through more than they had the past several weeks, so that was to be expected.

"Well, I didn't know what was going on!" Brynn defended herself, throwing her hands in the air. "Neither of us did! We just knew someone was in the house."

"And you were all prepared to take 'em down!" Sean exclaimed, punching his fists out in front of him in a mock fighting gesture.

"Well, yeah, I mean, it is **_our_** house after all. People can still defend their property against intruders in this country, right? That hasn't changed since I've been in Asgard."

"What **_would_** you have done if it **_had_** been intruders instead of us?" Devon asked, unable to help snickering. "I mean, really, Brynn?"

Brynn gave the boy an indignant look. "Fought 'em, of course," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "What else?" She was more than a little offended by the looks her friends were all sharing in response to that. "What, you don't think I would've?!"

"Well, you've always been more of a verbal fighter than a physical one, honey," Cait replied placatingly. She patted her bestie's knee. "And, don't get me wrong—you've delivered some major take downs that way. It's just…"

"It's a little hard to believe you'd be much help in an actual, physical confrontation," Maddie finished with a smirk.

Brynn scowled at the brunette. Her friends were all absolutely correct and she knew it; she'd never been much of a physical opponent, so she always tended more towards being a mental one. But the fact remained that she'd never been afraid to throw a punch if she had to. (Not that she ever really made decent contact and usually ended up icing her hand afterwards.) And, under Loki's tutelage, she'd actually come a long way in terms of physical combat, and was willing to bet—if she really had to—she could hold her own in a fight. Given her opponent was simply human. With less combat experience than she had. "Well, at least now I know what you all **_really_** think of me," she grumbled, earning snickers all around. She just managed to keep her own mouth from twitching into a smirk. "I'll have you know, I'm actually pretty decent with a blade," she informed them. "And I'm not half bad with a spear or staff either. I've gotten a lot better since you all last watched Loki and me spar."

"That's not sayin' much," Devon mumbled. "You were horrible then."

"And I'm better now!" Brynn insisted with a glare.

"We'll take your word for it, B," Sean chuckled.

Huffing in annoyance, Brynn crossed her arms over her chest and forcefully sat back into the couch. She scowled at the air in front of her. "Some friends I have," she muttered loud enough for them all to hear. That earned another peel of laughter from her friends, and, this time, the blonde couldn't stop a slight smile from spreading. She'd missed that sound more than she realized. She'd missed all of them more than she'd realized and it was just so good to be back with everyone again!

"While we're on the subject, what do you think the Trickster would've done to us?" Devon asked.

At this question, the squad all looked through the wide entryways across the living room and foyer into the kitchen where the adults were all gathered in their own discussion. While he was participating in the conversation it was clear that Loki felt a bit awkward with his situation, as he stood just slightly out of the group.

Brynn couldn't help but smile adoringly. The god had yet to really find where he fit in with her friends' guardians. The facts that he was neither fond of crowds of any size or Midgardian's in general didn't exactly help his situation either. But at least he was trying to acclimate, and that was enough for Brynn.

"I'm not exactly sure," she admitted, addressing Devon's question. "I haven't exactly personally seen him use a lot of his magic yet since he just got it all back. But whatever he would've done, I'm sure it wouldn't've been pretty."

"Maybe he can give us a demonstration some time," Cait suggested.

"Mmm, I'd **_love_** for him to give a demonstration," Maddie said dreamily. She stared at Loki with googly eyes as a blush colored her cheeks.

"Yeah, we all know what kinda demonstration **_you'd_** like to see him give, Sis," Sean muttered in disgust.

Maddie whipped around on him, looking beet red and irked. "Yeah? Well maybe **_you_** should have the same one, then maybe you'd actually know a thing or two about how to make girls happy!" she snapped.

At that Sean flushed just as red as his sister and he glared back at her.

The most uncomfortable of silences fell over the friend group. Once again, Devon was the first one to break it: "Uh, okay, Maddie? Um… we all know why you said that but uh… when you say it to your brother it makes your relationship sound… Brynn?" The ginger-haired boy turned to his blonde friend for assistance in finding just the right word.

"Incestuous," Brynn supplied.

Devon snapped his fingers in victory. " ** _That's_** the word!"

If it was at all possible, the siblings' blushes grew even brighter. "Shut up!" they both spat, Maddie glaring at Devon and Sean glaring at Brynn.

That only caused Brynn, Devon, and Caitlyn to laugh.

"Well, then," Brynn sighed, clapping her palms on her thighs as she stood from her spot on the couch, "if you losers are done interrogating me for now, I'm gonna go load up on some more punch. Anybody else want some?" As everyone else turned to either inspect or retrieve their cups, the blonde sped out of the room before they even got the chance to hand her anything. "See ya, suckas!" She snickered at the chorus of disappointed groans that followed after her. They fell for it every time!

Nodding a greeting to the adults as she entered the kitchen, Brynn made her way to the pair of punch bowls. "Let's try the green this time," she said to herself, ladling the fizzy concoction into her plastic cup.

All at once someone was standing beside her. "I think you've had enough after that," a smooth voice only half-teased her.

Brynn snorted as she put the ladle back into the punch bowl and turned to face her brother. She smirked at him. "This is only by third," she informed him, lifting her punch to her lips and taking a sip. Yummy: Just as good as the pink punch—if not better! Devon's aunt always made the best punches!

"Precisely," Loki responded with a smirk of his own. "Three glasses of punch—I believe that's more than enough." He arched an eyebrow and gave the teen a significant look. "The last thing I need at the moment is you on a sugar rush."

Brynn just snickered and took another swallow of her drink. "How many have you had?" she asked, spotting the god's empty glass.

"One," Loki replied.

"What'd'ya think?"

"Well… it's hardly something I'd care to consume on a regular or even semi-regular basis—it's much too sweet for that. However, on occasion I wouldn't be averse to it. It is rather tasty and refreshing."

"Lot tastier than the crap you have at parties on Asgard, that's for sure."

"And just how are you able to determine that with any certainty? I thought I left specific instructions with the servants to make sure you weren't served any alcohol."

"You did; they wouldn't let me anywhere near the stuff. But Fandral and Volstagg let me try some of theirs."

A dark shadow settled on Loki's face with that information. "I shall kill them both," he muttered more to himself than anyone else.

Brynn shrugged unworriedly. "They said I was old enough to drink on Asgard. Or nearly, anyway."

"Perhaps, but Asgardian biology is unlike that of Midgardian's—our alcohol would affect you very differently. Despite that, I told everyone you were not to have any, and those two oafs disobeyed me." He paused for a moment as another thought crossed his mind and then gave his charge a scolding look. "As did you, when it comes to it."

The teen quickly held up a hand to stop him. "I didn't drink," she insisted. "I **_tasted_**. It was offered and I tasted." She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Hardly even did that—that stuff is **_nasty_**!"

There was a hum of concession from the god. "I imagine anything Fandral and Volstagg offered you **_would_** be dreadful—they have no palate at all."

Brynn gave the god an annoyed look. As much as she loved him and admired his quick and caustic tongue, Loki could be downright snobbish at times—especially when it came to Thor's friends. They weren't her favorite people in the realms by any means, but they were nice to her and Brynn didn't mind and held no ill will against them. So, while she understood his dislike for the Warriors and respected his feelings, Brynn held little appreciation for the way Loki constantly degraded them. She appreciated it even less when he acted like the stuck up prince in doing so. "It was the same stuff **_you_** were drinking," she grumbled.

Knowing he'd irked her a bit, the trickster pulled out the smirk that would only help to tick her off more. "It may have come from the same barrel," he remarked, "but I assure you by the time it reaches either of their mouths it is not the same drink: If it's not from their own personal stores, Fandral and Volstagg have been known to add to their drinks until it fits their liking."

All at once the jaunty little tune of the doorbell rang through the house. Everyone suddenly fell quiet and turned their attentions toward the front door. An artic chill suddenly settled over Brynn. Her stomach bottomed out and all at once her body went completely numb. The world around her narrowed to her, Loki, the front door, and whoever was on the other side of it. "They're here," the words slipped from her lips before she even knew what she was saying. "S.H.I.E.L.D…."

Loki couldn't deny he was thinking and feeling very much the same thing, but he didn't want to distress Brynn any more than he knew she already was. "Shh," he whispered, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Let's see who it is first before we start panicking." And with that he set down his cup and moved passed the girl to leave the kitchen and go to the front door. He felt as if he was wading through tar: The dread that filled him seemed to weigh him down and hold him in place. It took an eternity to reach the door. Once he'd managed that, it took another eternity to open the door.

A dark suited man with thinning hair and eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses stood just on the other side of the door. Behind him on either side stood two soldiers armed to the teeth, and behind them Loki could see at least half a dozen more with weapons at the ready just in case. Even though he understood the reason for this, the god couldn't help but feel slightly offended; as if he'd try to make a stand against the government agency in Brynn's and his home! Still, he would give them no reason to use their armaments. "Yes?" the Asgardian addressed the man.

"Loki of Asgard," the man spoke up, finally reaching up to remove his sunglasses, "I'm sure you don't remember me—but I am Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Ah, yes," Loki mused, something clicking in his head. "I remember your face now." He looked the agent over, looking slightly baffled. "I thought I killed you."

Agent Coulson looked very uncomfortable with this statement, as the muscles in his jaw and neck flexed and something in his eyes flashed. But apparently he managed to hold his tongue against whatever he was wanting to snap back. He cleared his throat and said in a very measured tone, "Yes, well, you very nearly did… but that's neither here nor there. I've been sent to retrieve you and bring you to the meeting in order to discuss the terms of your parole here on Earth."

"So soon?" Loki questioned. "We've only just returned from Asgard."

"Yes, we know," Agent Coulson replied, "we've been watching for you. We've decided that it would be best for everyone that the terms are settled as soon as possible. Ah! Hello again, Ms. Hagel."

Brynn, who had finally come back to her senses after the initial shock, was now standing close beside her guardian. She nervously eyed the S.H.I.E.L.D agents. It took all her strength to keep herself from reaching out and grabbing on to Loki in some way for comfort. "Hello, Agent Coulson," she softly said.

Agent Coulson gave the girl a friendly smile. "Good to see you're in a better state than the last time we met."

Oh, great. Memories about the circumstances of how they met last were **_exactly_** what Brynn needed to help her calm down now. The teen edged slightly closer to her brother. "Yeah," she very nearly murmured to herself. She let her gaze drop down to stare at the agent's shoes. "I'm doin' okay." She suddenly turned her attention to her fingernails and started picking at them, turning her head so that a curtain of wavy, blonde hair hid her face.

"Well… good," Agent Coulson said, looking a bit unsure of how to address the girl's shy demeanor. This was very different to how they'd first met; she'd seemed full of determination and fire at that time. But no matter—he had a job to do. "Right, well if you two could come with me-"

"You want us **_both_** to come?" Loki asked sounding a little surprised as well as uneasy. He wasn't all that thrilled about the prospect of Brynn meeting with Nick Fury too, and the fact that he didn't know exactly why they wanted Brynn there and what they might ask of her didn't help the feeling.

"Of course," Agent Coulson answered simply. "You're to both be interviewed."

The mention of both of them going had drawn Brynn's attention from her finger picking and caused her to come out from behind her curtain of hair. "They want to talk to **_me_**?" she asked, sounding just as surprised and uneasy as her guardian. "Why?"

"Well, you **_are_** the reason this request has even been made, let alone considered, Ms. Hagel," Agent Coulson explained. "You're the central part in all of this. Why **_wouldn't_** they want to talk to you?"

That made more than enough sense, Brynn had to agree. Still she didn't like the idea of it. Both Loki's and her fate could potentially be resting solely in her very own hands; she could very well be the linchpin in her brother either staying free or being thrown into a cell or worse. What if she said something that reflected badly on Loki, or something that was taken out of context and got him into trouble? What if they didn't believe anything she said and thought Loki was somehow making her say things in his favor instead of speaking from the bottom of her heart? They had all the power in this situation—they very well could do that if they wanted.

"Brynn."

Hearing her name, the fifteen-year-old blinked out of her panicked stupor and looked over at Loki. Apparently understanding where her headspace was at the moment, the god was smiling reassuringly at her. When he gave her a slight nod the teen couldn't help but smile and nod back, though she still felt pressured and scared.

"Right then, again, if you two could come with me," Agent Coulson repeated.

"I should go, too," a voice suddenly came from further in the house.

Girl, god, and agent all looked back to see Mrs. Willis striding down the hall. As was typical when she went into "Big Bad Lawyer Mode", (as the teens called it) the small statured woman was somehow made much larger and more foreboding by the fact that she looked all business. The fact that she was dressed in a bright, airy sundress and sandals instead of a smooth, professional dress suit didn't detract from her air of intimidation at all: She could just as easily have ruled a courtroom this way.

"Hello," Agent Coulson greeted her politely, holding out his hand. "I'm Agent Coulson. I don't believe we've met, Ms..."

"Willis," the woman supplied, taking Coulson's hand in a firm, confident grip. "Mrs. Kumi Willis. I've handled the legal matters of the Hagel family for years, and, as such, I am both Brynn and Loki's representative in such affairs."

"Oh, I see," Coulson replied, not seeming to miss a beat. "Well then, yes, Mrs. Willis, I believe it's advisable that you come as well." He looked over the household for a moment, apparently just noticing the party decorations. "I will give you all a minute to get ready." And with that the agent turned and left the door, closing it behind him.

"I guess we're off then," Mrs. Willis said simply. She quickly retreated back down the hall to retrieve her purse and give her husband and daughter kisses, hugs, and instructions dealing with the food they'd brought to the party

In the meantime Brynn and Loki were busy speaking amongst themselves.

"Oh, god," Brynn whimpered, dread rising higher and higher within her. "Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god!" She was going to be sick, she was sure of it: Her punch and cake and cookies were all going to make a reappearance right there on the floor of the foyer. She could practically taste the grossness at the back of her throat now.

"Brynn," Loki murmured, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Brynn, listen to me-"

But Brynn wasn't focusing on him. "It's happening," she squeaked, terrified gaze flying to the door. "They're here—it's happening." All at once the teen's chest felt extremely tight and painful. She grabbed at her chest and gasped for breath, even more panic setting in over this latest development. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her body.

"Brynn?" Loki sounded extremely concerned.

"I can't breathe," Brynn wheezed. "I can't… **_breathe_**!" Her face was going red.

Without thinking, Loki grabbed Brynn's arm and all but dragged her further into the house, past their guests, and into the library study, shutting the door behind them. S.H.I.E.L.D was right outside their front door and ready to go, but they'd just have to wait a little longer. This needed to be dealt with now.

"Sit down," Loki said, gently guiding his charge to sit in one of the chairs. "Sit." He sank down onto a knee in front of the panicking teenager and took her head in his hands to angle her face to his. "Brynn," he whispered, "look at me. **_Look at me_**. Look into my eyes." Brynn's wide, blue-gray eyes met his green ones, gazing deep. "Good girl. Now, breathe for me, Princess. Breathe. In-" he slowly sucked in a deep breath as an example, "and out-" he released the breath slowly. "In-" once more he inhaled, "and out. That's my girl," he praised as Brynn successfully mimicked him. "Slowly. Just breathe." Closing his eyes, he pressed his forehead to hers. "That's it, Princess—just breathe. I'm here—I've got you."

The pair stayed this way for a several minutes until Brynn had managed to calm down a bit. Finally she was breathing normally and her racing heart had settled. She was still shaking, but at least the worst was over.

"I'm sorry," Brynn croaked out. She met her brother's eyes again as they pulled apart. "I'm so sorry, Loki. I don't know what… or why…" she dropped off, not sure what to say.

Loki smiled gently and shook his head. "Shh," he hushed, stroking the girl's face. "It's all right, Princess. You have no need to apologize—panic attacks are not new territory for me."

"Is that what it was?" Brynn asked, voice trembling. "It was horrible."

"Well, they're certainly not the most pleasant experiences," Loki chuckled. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs as he looked her over. "How are you feeling now?"

Brynn took a moment to take a deep breath and assess herself. "I can breathe," she answered, "but I'm still freaking out."

Sympathy shone in her guardian's eyes. "I know," he whispered.

"I just… I don't know what's gonna happen, Loki. I don't know if it's gonna be okay or… or not, and I just…" Brynn tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Tears bit at her eyes. "All I can think about is if they take you, and I can't handle the thought of living without you! I can't! I can't! I-" she was cut off as she was suddenly pulled into a hug.

"Shh, shh," Loki soothed, holding the girl close. "It's all right, Princess. It's going to be all right."

"You don't know that!" Brynn sobbed into his shoulder. "We don't know anything that's gonna happen!"

Loki let Brynn go and took her face in his hands again, pressing their foreheads together. "Brynn," he said firmly, but not harshly, "look at me. It is all going to be fine."

"But-"

"Listen to me: It is all going to be fine. Repeat."

"It's all gonna be fine."

"It's all going to be fine."

"Yeah, but, Loki-"

"What do I always tell you?"

"What?"

"What do I always tell you when you ask if I'll leave?"

"… Un-until the realms tumble down."

Loki nodded. "Until the realms tumble down," he repeated with finality. "I'm here with you until the realms tumble down."

There was a knock on the door and it slowly creaked open. "Loki, Brynn," it was Mrs. Willis, "we need to go."

Loki looked over at the woman with a nod. "Of course, Mrs. Willis," he responded. "We're coming." He turned back to Brynn and gave her an encouraging smile. "Are you ready?"

Brynn took a deep breath and slowly released it, forcing herself to focus on what Loki had told her and to push away all the horrible scenarios running rampant in her mind. It was going to be okay. It was all going to be okay. "Yeah," she finally said, though her voice sounded pathetic to her own ears. "Yeah, let's go."

And with that the two of them stood and exited the study. They said goodbyes and thank yous to everyone as they left the house and receiving wishes of good luck in return (and, for Brynn, reassuring hugs from her friends). Then they were walking out the door, Mrs. Willis walking on a bit ahead of them not too far behind Agent Coulson.

Brynn tried to not pay much mind to the two soldiers flanking her and Loki, and she tried to keep her eyes on the black vehicles in front of them and not look at any of the other soldiers lining the sidewalk as they marched towards said vehicles. Not an easy thing to do: It was rather difficult to **_not_** want to pay attention to a battalion of amour-clad, armed soldiers in your yard. That wasn't exactly a normal occurrence!

Her paranoia about this all didn't help either. She felt any move Loki made could potentially be seen as a threat by them, or maybe even just an excuse to take him down: She was well aware he wasn't much liked by anyone within S.H.I.E.L.D. Brynn moved closer to her brother, as if her nearness would protect him from such tactics. If they didn't want to shoot her down too, that was. It stemmed from her paranoia, but Brynn had a sneaking suspicion that they all probably considered her a traitor for caring for the man that had very nearly destroyed New York City and unleashed terror onto the Earth. That probably put her on their hit list, too—right next to Loki.

Finally they reached one of the black vehicles and Agent Coulson stood to the side of the door, ushering all three of them inside. Mrs. Willis was the first to climb in and Brynn after her, taking her seat between Mrs. Willis and Loki. Somehow having people she knew and trusted on either side of her made her feel just a little bit better. She still found her nails and cuticles quite interesting, however.

Without warning, one of her hands was snagged up into a warm grip, long fingers entwining with hers and trapping them, keeping them away from the fingers of her other hand and stopping the picking. Brynn looked up to meet her guardian's emerald gaze. She couldn't help but return the soft smile he was directing at her: He could always make her smile.

"You know," Loki remarked, holding up her hand to indicate it, "this is why you can't get manicures." It seemed like an offhand comment, or maybe even a scolding for a bad habit, but the teenager knew what the god was saying: "Don't worry—everything is going to be fine." Brynn just wished she could really believe him.

* * *

After a car ride several miles down the road to an open field and awaiting aircraft, and a flight on said aircraft, Loki, Brynn, and Mrs. Willis had finally arrived on the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier. It was a massive and magnificent thing, and Brynn and Mrs. Willis couldn't help but gawk around the huge hangar as they exited the aircraft. But then it was quickly back to business.

"All right," Mrs. Willis said. She smoothed her long, smooth, dark hair and straightened her flowery, flowy sundress, completely unfazed by how it made her stand out in her dark, gray, militaristic surroundings. "Let's go get this situation settled." And with that she nodded to Agent Coulson to lead the way.

Once again, Brynn felt the panic rising again and her chest tightened, stomach tying itself in countless knots. A gentle hand on her back drew her attention. She looked up to meet Loki's calming gaze and the apprehension inside of her settled a bit, though it didn't go away completely.

They left the hangar and entered into the belly of the beast. Brynn had thought the outside of the helicarrier looked huge, but from the inside it looked absolutely, colossally ginormous! Seriously, how could something **_this_** big manage to stay airborne and at such an altitude? It was extraordinary! It also made everything all the more intimidating. This was it; these were the people that held her and Loki's future in their hands; the people that could separate them permanently if they so wished. This contraption was a literal testament to that power, and she was right there in the middle of it, moments away from being interviewed by the people who held the power.

" _Okay, Girl_ ," Brynn thought to herself, forcing herself to stop before her anxiety ran off with her. " _You need to calm the hell down. The last thing you need is to get so upset you stumble over your words or can't talk at all. That won't help Loki. Stop thinking about S.H.I.E.L.D's authority; stop thinking about what they could do. Focus on something else. Anything else._ "

Almost as if summoned by her thoughts, two armed agents came around the corner, escorting a handcuffed man between them. The handcuffed man was big, burly, and looked absolutely mean as sin; Brynn found herself moving a bit closer to her brother's side just at the sight of him. This guy could easily pop her head like a grape with one hand if he wanted.

Apparently feeling her gaze, the goliath looked up from his scowling at the floor and towards her. The moment they made, eye contact, his mouth twisted into a sick grin, exposing a gold tooth. "Heya, Dollface," he rumbled, voice deep and gruff and loud. "Like what'cha see? Come on. How 'bout a kiss fer ol' Donnie?" The man puckered up his fat, scarred, overly large lips and smooched at her, causing the teen to grimace and recoil.

 ** _Protective Mode, activate_**.Grabbing Brynn's wrist and pulling her across to his other side so that he stood between her and "ol' Donnie", Loki turned his attention to the big man. He said nothing, but simply glared the bastard down, allowing just enough of his magic to slip away so that his eyes turned red and the markings of his Jotun heritage appeared on his skin. If they hadn't been on S.H.I.E.L.D property on their way to a life-altering meeting, the god would have let his appearance alter completely to drive more fear into the man. However, they **_were_** on S.H.I.E.L.D property on their way to a life-altering meeting, and going full Frost Giant probably wasn't the best impression, even if it was to protect his little sister. So he'd just have to settle for partial Frost Giant. But if this clod made any other such disrespectful advances towards Brynn or him….

Even without turning completely, Loki's tactic worked like a charm; "ol' Donnie" took one look at the god—who was significantly smaller than him, in all reality—and immediately backed away, looking rather frightened. "The hell?!" he yelped.

"Keep walkin', scumbag!" one of the agents leading him barked, shoving one of the man's massive shoulders. Both agents seemed completely unfazed by the entire situation.

"I would do as the man says," Loki rumbled threateningly, small puffs of frost expelling from between his lips. His eyes almost seemed to blaze red and his free hand began to glow green with magical aura.

"Ol' Donnie" didn't need to be told twice. He literally began sprinting down the hallway away from them, yelling about a crazy, psycho demon-man, practically dragging the two agents after him.

Loki glared daggers at "Ol' Donnie's" back the entire way until he was out of sight before turning back to Brynn. "Are you all right?" he murmured, strengthening his spell so that his appearance returned to its normal state. The god reached up to lovingly tuck the girl's hair behind her ears and hold her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Brynn replied with a slight smile. She instinctively leaned into her brother's touch. "That was just gross."

Loki nodded in agreement. "Come on, then," he said, taking her hand again.

Hand-in-hand the pair continued on down the hall, quickly catching up to Agent Coulson and Mrs. Willis who had stopped several yards ahead of them to wait for them. Brynn felt her stomach bottom out at the look on Coulson's face. He'd seen the entire altercation (unsurprising), and he didn't seem to have been amused by it (even more unsurprising). That couldn't possibly be good for Loki! All at once her anxiety about all of this that had effectively disappeared during the whole debacle with "Ol' Donnie" came surging back with the strength of a tsunami.

Sensing her distress, Loki squeezed her hand. In all honesty, it was reassurance that he didn't even feel himself. This looked bad, felt bad, and—considering the kind of luck he usually had—probably would **_be_** bad.

The group continued on their way without any other predicaments, and it wasn't long before they were coming upon a large set of double doors. As they approached the doors, they quickly whooshed open. There was a large room on the other side, filled with people that were either bustling around or planted and staring intently at holographic computer screens. The front wall of the room was made entirely of windows, making it look like you could walk straight out into the open sky… and then plummet straight down to the earth hundreds of feet below. At the center of everything was a slightly elevated platform upon which stood two men and a woman. The woman was a stranger, but not the men. One of them was a dark-skinned man with an eyepatch dressed in black, wearing a long trench coat, and looking just as intimidating as Brynn remembered: S.H.I.E.L.D Director Colonel Nick Fury. As for the other man...

"Thor?" Brynn and Loki said in unison.

The woman, Fury, and Thor turned their attention to the pair, the Thor grinning heartily at them. "Loki! Little Brynna!" he boomed enthusiastically, coming towards them. "It's good to see you again."

"We just saw you a few hours ago," Loki remarked drily. Why was his brother here? Had Thor been summoned to this meeting as well? Was he to be interviewed along with Brynn and himself? Perhaps Thor had been called as a character witness to speak on his behalf. Or maybe he was here because the throne of Asgard and S.H.I.E.L.D were conspiring together on what exactly his probation on Earth would entail. While he and Thor were on much better terms now than they had been for some years, Loki wasn't sure he liked that idea. He'd already had to make concessions and agreements with Thor in order to have his permission to make his home in Midgard—none of which he was all that thrilled about. He didn't need or want more of that kind of thing coming through S.H.I.E.L.D: He was sure they already had more than their fair share lined up for him on their own.

"And yet, it's still good to see you again, Brother," Thor repeated, his smile never slipping. He clapped the chaos god on the shoulder in affectionate, brotherly fashion before turning his gaze down to Brynn. "You survived your first Bifrost journey, I see," he remarked to her. "How did you like it?"

"I didn't," Brynn answered flatly. Just the very thought of the whole ordeal brought the dizziness back to the girl.

Thor chuckled and he reached out to ruffle the teen's hair affectionately. "Don't worry," he assured her. "You'll get used to it."

A small smile curled Brynn's lips as she gently batted Thor's hand away. She knew Loki found him annoying and infuriating, (not surprising; Thor's personality was the complete opposite of Loki's—not to mention he seemed like he could be a bit of a dunderhead sometimes) but Brynn couldn't help but find herself liking Thor and enjoying his company. They didn't have much more in common than he and Loki did, but it didn't really matter; he was just so nice and friendly and charming. Besides, what they **_did_** have in common made up for everything else they differed on, and what they did have was Loki. It was because of this shared interest that Brynn felt slightly better that Thor was there. He might not make things easy on Loki—just like he hadn't back in Asgard with everything he'd made Loki agree to—but at least he would make sure whatever S.H.I.E.L.D asked of Loki was reasonable and would fight for Loki to remain out of a cell.

Nick Fury was coming towards them now, the woman following closely behind him. She was smartly dressed in a raspberry pantsuit and heeled shoes, with her dark brown hair smoothed and pulled back into a neat bun. She carried a shiny black briefcase in one hand, and a friendly smile on her pretty face. The woman looked very professional, but she hardly looked unkind.

Regardless, Brynn still felt a chill rush through her and her stomach churned, once again making her feel like she might throw up. Unconsciously she shifted her hand within Loki's to twine their fingers tightly together, then she took hold of his arm, and pressed closer into his side, putting herself in a position where she was almost hiding behind the god. She peeked out at the woman apprehensively. This woman had to be from Social Services, here to determine what sort of mental and physical state she was in and to deem whether Loki was a fit guardian or not. The question was: Was this woman actually going to be fair and do her job? Or did she have some sort of agenda to follow and that's why S.H.I.E.L.D had picked her? Brynn didn't trust S.H.I.E.L.D with anything when it came to Loki. Not that their reasons for disliking and distrusting the god weren't perfectly valid—Brynn wasn't ignorant enough to think that; but she wasn't ignorant enough to assume that S.H.I.E.L.D would be coming into this without any sort of bias either.

"I'm guessin' I don't need to tell you two why you're here," Fury declared, looking back and forth between the teenager and the chaos god. If this wasn't the strangest set up he'd ever been part of. And he'd been through and seen a lot of strange set ups!

"No," Loki agreed, "you do not." His instincts practically demanded he be sarcastic and snap something back at this obvious statement, but—again—there was the pressure of not pushing any buttons than already were being pushed for Brynn's sake. He could easily contain himself for her. But it still felt so unnatural.

"I'm Donna Smith," the woman introduced herself, coming forward with an outstretched hand, "representative for Social Services. I was specifically requested by Colonel Fury to come and oversee the family interviews."

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Smith," Loki responded. He hoped his voice sounded… nice enough. He shook the woman's hand, praying he didn't move as rigidly as he felt. Something told him this whole ordeal would entail a lot of hoping and praying on his part.

Ms. Smith then turned her attention away from the man to the girl standing by his side. "And I'm guessing you're Brynna May," she said with a bright grin.

"I am," Brynn muttered. Gods, did her voice really sound that small and meek?

"Do you like to be called 'Brynna May'?" Donna asked. "Or would you feel more comfortable if I called you 'Brynn'?"

"Brynn," the fifteen-year-old answered, finding it within herself to make her voice a bit more normal sounding. "'Brynna May' makes me feel like I'm in trouble."

Ms. Smith chuckled at that statement. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want you to feel like that," she replied. "Don't worry, Brynn—there's no reason for you to be nervous about me. I'm just here to ask you some questions and talk to you."

" _And just how many kids have you told that to before they get taken away from their families?_ " Brynn asked the question inside her head. She shifted even closer to her brother, if that was at all possible—she was practically **_in_** his side as it was—and turned her gaze away from Donna's and down to the floor. Why couldn't this whole thing just be over with already?

With that, Mrs. Willis quickly stepped in to make herself known. "I'm Mrs. Willis," she introduced herself to both Fury and Ms. Smith, "legal representation for the Hagel family and—by extension—Loki." She shook their hands.

"Well, if that's everybody," Fury said after all the introductions were made, "I say we get this thing settled."

"I agree," Ms. Smith responded. She turned to smile at Brynn again. "If you wouldn't mind following me, Brynn." With that she started walking passed them back towards the doors they'd just come through.

Brynn immediately snapped to attention at that. She whirled around and stared after the woman in alarm. "Wait, what?" she yelped. "We're not being interviewed together?"

Once again, Loki found himself pulling Brynn close to him, a protective arm around her shoulders. He didn't like the sound of this.

"We decided it would be better if the two of you were separated," Fury answered, not the least bit fazed by the reactions from the pair. "Ms. Hagel doesn't really need to sit in on the negotiation aspect of this, and having Ms. Smith interview you separately will better ensure that the truth is being told."

It took everything Loki had to not snap back at this statement. To better ensure that he wasn't manipulating Brynn and forcing her to say things to his benefit is what Fury meant! As if he would ever do such a thing. Maybe in the past, but not now, and certainly not with Brynn. He'd remove his own tongue before he would manipulate her in such a way! "Brynn and I would feel much more comfortable if we were to be interviewed together," the god stated. "Is there any way we could-"

"Out of the question," Fury cut him off with a wave of his hand. An adamant gleam shone in his eye.

Unfortunately for Nick, Loki was just as unyielding about this as he was. "I absolutely must insist that Brynn and I be interviewed together," he declared firmly, green eyes blazing. "I refuse to allow my sister to be interviewed without someone else present-"

"We can have someone else sit in on the interview if you would like," Ms. Smith spoke up calmly. "Considering Brynn's age, it's recommended."

"It just can't be you," Fury stated firmly. He narrowed his gaze at Loki as he said this, as if daring the Asgardian to challenge him.

Loki's mouth twisted and twitched as he struggled with himself to hold his tongue. They knew the position he was in; they knew how vulnerable he was in the face of all of this and they were exploiting every last bit of that weakness. Either he did what they wanted without question or they got to lock him away—it was a win-win for them either way.

In desperation Brynn turned to Mrs. Willis. "Would you come?" she asked beseechingly. Mrs. Willis was like a mother (a sweet but scary mother), and the teenager knew she could trust her to help keep things fair if Ms. Smith tried something.

The woman gave her a regretful look. "You know I would, Brynn," she answered, "but I think it's better that I stay with Loki and help him with the negotiating."

"I'll do it," Thor suddenly offered.

All eyes in the room turned towards the thunder god.

Taking note of this, Thor simply smiled and put a hand on Brynn's shoulder as he looked down to meet her gaze. "I will oversee Brynn's interview," he stated more clearly this time. His gaze left Brynn's and moved up to Loki's as he murmured, "If you do not mind, Brother." He didn't need to ask permission for this. In fact he didn't need to ask permission of Loki for anything ever again now that he was reigning King of Asgard (not that he ever did before that anyway). But this was about Brynn and her safety, and that was Loki's hard earned territory; he couldn't very well waltz in and claim authority there, no matter his rank. He had too much love and respect for his brother to do that, whatever Loki thought of him.

Caught off guard by Thor asking for permission, Loki couldn't help but stare at his brother in shock for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time Thor had asked his permission of anything! However, he quickly collected himself. "I-it is up to Brynn," he replied, gazing down at the teenager between them.

Without hesitation Brynn smiled up at Thor and nodded. She loved the idea of having a third party in the room with her and Ms. Smith that would be on her and Loki's side; and if it couldn't be Mrs. Willis, Thor was the next best thing. It was like some of the weight was lifting off her chest. But only some. More of it might have lifted if Thor had any idea about American legal matters.

Thor smiled and nodded back. "Right then," he said, affectionately patting Brynn's cheek. "Let us go." With that he slipped an arm around the fifteen-year-old's shoulder, replacing Loki's, and led her off after Ms. Smith who smiled pleasantly at them and turned towards the doors again.

Loki watched on a bit forlornly as they all walked away, his eyes trailing on Brynn. When she looked back at him with a nervous glance he forced an encouraging smile and nod, earning a return gesture from her. " _It's all right_ ," he repeated in his head. " _It's going to be all right._ " It would be nice if he could believe his own words as easily as he could make others believe them.

* * *

Brynn tried to relax as she and Thor walked side-by-side after Ms. Smith. She tried to tell herself it was going to be okay, just like Loki had kept saying, but she couldn't make herself believe that. Maybe if Loki believed it, too, she could have, but she knew he didn't. He could lie to everyone else, make them believe whatever he wanted them to, but he couldn't to her—it just didn't work. His lies were as obvious to her as his illusions, but not half as pretty.

"Penny for your thoughts," Thor murmured, taking note of the girl's silence. The last time he'd seen her this quiet was when she'd lain unconscious in the infirmary at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Brynn glanced up at the huge man before shifting her gaze down to her feet uncertainly. "I… I don't know what I'm supposed to say," she quietly admitted after a moment. She looked back up at Thor. "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell her about Loki and me."

"I imagine you should tell her the truth; that you're well cared for and highly valued," Thor replied with a shrug.

"Well, yeah, but what if that's not what she wants to hear?"

"What do you mean, Brynn?"

"I mean what if she tries to twist my words around or make me say something that sounds worse than it is? She was asked here by Fury himself—he must have picked her out for some reason."

"I imagine he asked her because she is efficient at her job."

"Or he asked her because she's really good at spinning a web of lies."

"I'm sure that's not the case."

"Loki's right—you're way too optimistic, Thor."

The thunder god chuckled at that and ruffled the head of hair that was as golden as his own. "Perhaps some of it will manage to rub off on you," he teased.

Brynn shook his hand away, a tiny smile twitching at her lips and a slight levity rising in her chest as it usually seemed to do when Thor joked with her. He was just so infectious. The teen honestly couldn't tell if it was endearing or aggravating. "Let's get through these meetings without Loki going to prison," she said, "and I'll be so optimistic I'll put **_you_** to shame."

"I shall hold you to that," Thor warned. His lightheartedness quickly faltered as he watched the anxiety return to Brynn's face. The Asgardian sighed heavily. "Just speak the truth, Brynn," he said, patting her back. "Be honest. That is all you can do."

"Yeah," Brynn mumbled. Her stomach had resumed its churning as they came upon an open door and Ms. Smith walked into the room beyond it. "It is. I just hope it's enough." Steeling herself, the fifteen-year-old stepped through the door and then paused as she stared ahead at Ms. Smith, who had already made herself comfortable in a chair at a table, and was currently opening her briefcase and pulling out some files. It was then that Brynn felt the sudden urge to run. To either run away and hide or run back to Loki and refuse to leave his side, she didn't know, but she just felt like she needed to run. She might have actually gone through with it if two large, strong hands didn't gently grip onto her shoulders, effectively preventing her from going anywhere but forward.

"Go on, Brynn," Thor whispered. "I am right behind you."

At this point Ms. Smith looked up at them and smiled sweetly. "You can come on in," she said. "Don't worry—I don't bite."

Brynn swallowed hard and took a deep, shaky breath before finally forcing her legs to move and carry her further into the room.

"You can sit here, Brynn." Ms. Smith indicated to a chair right across the table from where she was sitting.

Without a word, Brynn slowly made her way towards the chair and carefully sat down, rigidly sitting on the edge of the seat. She watched on as Ms. Smith continued to sort through her papers for a moment. What were those documents? One of them must have been her grandfather's will, stating how custody over her would be transferred to Loki upon his death. Seeing as how she was from Social Services, Ms. Smith probably wanted to check the legality of the document. Of course she would find that it was all legal— had seen to all of that herself. And if Ms. Smith had the documents from the psychologist that stated her grandfather was of sound mind when he'd made the decision she'd find that those were all official as well. Nothing on that front could be twisted around to say it was sketchy. But that didn't mean Ms. Smith couldn't potentially find another route to derail it all.

"You can relax you know," Ms. Smith chuckled, bringing Brynn out of her harried thoughts. "I know you're nervous about all of this, but like I said, you have no reason to be afraid of me, Brynn. I might be from Social Services, but I have no desires or intentions to split up families if it can be helped."

"So… you're not dead set on separating Loki and me then?"

"Is that what you've been thinking?"

"… You said Fury brought you in personally. He doesn't exactly like Loki. I'm not sure anybody here likes Loki all that much besides Thor and I, and I think they'd rather see him locked up."

"Well, that might be true. But I can assure you that I'm not here to try and separate you and Loki at whatever cost. I won't lie to you; I play hardball because this is my job and I love it and I am good at it, and sometimes doing my job means having to take children away from their guardians. But what I don't do is make up lies, and I told Colonel Fury that when he recruited me. Unless he's made some serious infractions in regards to being your guardian, Loki will not be taken away because of me, I promise."

Brynn felt the slightest sense of relief wash over her at these words, like a little more of the weight had lifted. That was one less person against them. Whether that really mattered and made a difference for things in the long run was still a crap-shoot, but at least she didn't have to worry about saying something wrong or having her words being twisted around by this woman. "Thank you, Ms. Smith," the girl sighed.

"You can call me Donna," the woman responded with a comforting smile. "Now that we've settled that, let's get on to business." With that statement she slipped into a straight-faced, professional, no-nonsense demeanor that reminded Brynn a lot of Mrs. Willis (except slightly less scary) and began to open up files and pull out papers. Ms. Smith looked up towards Thor and said, "If you would like to take a seat as well." She motioned to a chair against the wall not too far away from the table.

Thor quickly retrieved it, brought it over to the table, and sat down beside Brynn. "I told you so," he whispered to the teen, with a wink and smirk.

Brynn could only smile back. She hated 'I told you so's, but in this circumstance she was much too relieved about the whole thing to punch the thunder god in the mouth. Which was a good thing, considering she would probably break her hand doing that.

* * *

Brynn stared at the clock on the wall as she picked feverishly at her fingers. She would have some nasty hangnails to deal with later, but that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She finished her interview with Ms. Smith over and hour ago and was now stationed in a little, out-of-the-way room with Thor and Mrs. Willis as they waited for Loki to finish his own interview with Ms. Smith. The teen had little fear for the outcome of that meeting; her own had been easy enough. While Ms. Smith had done as she claimed and played hardball with lots of prying questions, she'd been fair about it all and hadn't tried to load things or twist them around. Brynn had no doubts she would be the same way with Loki.

No, what the blonde feared was what would come after that. After Donna interviewed Loki, she would have to meet with Fury and report to him all of her information and findings and recommendations. Then the decision would be with S.H.I.E.L.D from there. They would have everything in their hands and they would make the final decision of whether Loki could go free and be her guardian or be imprisoned for his past crimes. If there was one thing they didn't like, they could use it against Loki. Even if there wasn't anything in the information that they didn't like, they could still go against Loki, simply because they had the power and the opportunity, and they didn't have to play fair if they didn't want to.

"Brynn, honey, you're going to make yourself bleed," Mrs. Willis warned as she watched the girl intently.

As if to prove the woman right, Brynn felt a slight twinge of pain and looked down at her hands to see she'd pulled off most of the cuticle from her left forefinger, taking a decent chunk of skin with it. Blood was starting to bead there now. "Dang," Brynn grumbled to herself. She quickly stuck the knuckle into her mouth and sucked at it.

"Here, hold on," Mrs. Willis sighed. She dug down into her purse, found a packet of tissues, and pulled one out. She handed it to the teen.

"Thanks, Mrs. Willis," Brynn muttered as she took the tissue and wrapped it around her finger.

"You need to calm down," Mrs. Willis said gently. She kindly brushed some of Brynn's hair out of her face.

"She is right, little one," Thor agreed with a nod. "There is no reason for you to get so worked up."

"Until I have an actual reason to get worked up, you mean," Brynn replied glumly. She hoped she was wrong, but the girl couldn't help but feel less than optimistic about her and Loki's situation. After all, the whole thing wasn't exactly ideal.

Just then the door opened and Loki came striding into the room, followed by an armed agent.

Unable to help herself, Brynn was immediately on her feet and lunging towards him, having not seen him since before her own interview with Donna. She gripped the tall man into a tight hug.

"Easy now, Princess," Loki chuckled, "I haven't been taken away, yet." Despite his teasing tone, Loki embraced the girl just as closely and tightly in return, like he was never going to let her go. Maybe he wouldn't. Maybe holding her was the only way he'd be able to stay with her.

"Mrs. Willis," the armed agent said, "if you could come with me. You're presence has been requested by Colonel Fury."

"Of course," Mrs. Willis answered, her tone becoming lawyer-like again. She stood purposefully and left the room, but not before touching a reassuring hand to both Brynn and Loki's shoulders

The door closed behind Mrs. Willis and the agent, and it was just Thor, Loki, and Brynn left in the room together.

Thor remained silent as he watched on while Brynn and Loki continued to embrace, deciding to let them have this moment together for as long as they wanted it. After all, there were no guarantees they'd have many more.

Finally the pair pulled apart a bit, though they did so just enough to face each other.

"How was it?" Brynn asked, gazing up at her guardian expectantly.

"It was fine," Loki answered simply. "A bit intrusive if you ask me, but I suppose that is her job. She seemed fair enough, though."

Brynn nodded. "She told me she wasn't setting out to take you away, so there's that. What all did she ask you?"

Loki shrugged as he led Brynn back over to sit down again. "What I'm assuming are fairly normal questions for her to ask: how long we've known each other, how we know each other, how long you've been under my care, what our basic day to day life entails, child-rearing questions, things such as that."

"Child-rearing questions?"

"Yes, questions about diet, and sleeping schedules, and education, among other things."

"She didn't ask me anything like that."

Loki smirked at his charge at this statement. "Well, considering **_you_** are the child and **_I_** am the guardian, that's to be expected."

Brynn glared at the god, offended by this statement. "I'm not a child!" she spat indignantly. "I might not be considered an adult yet, but I'm not a kid either."

Both Loki and Thor actually laughed at this, causing Brynn's face to flair hot with annoyance and embarrassment. "Asgardians!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just because you guys can live for thousands of years, you think anyone who doesn't is a baby."

Thor reached to playfully shove the girl's shoulder. "Not anyone, Little Brynna," he chuckled, "just **_you_**."

Brynn glared at the large, blond man. Great! Because having **_one_** Asgardian god for a big brother wasn't enough, it looked like she was well on the way to acquiring **_two_** of them! And, to make matters worse, they were the Prince and King of the entire, frickin' Asgardian realm! "Shouldn't you be on your throne making kingly decrees or something?" she grumbled.

That only caused Thor to guffaw harder.

Brynn's scowl narrowed on him, and she was about to reach over and hit him (no matter if it broke her hand or not) when Loki's arm snaked around her shoulders and pulled her close into his side. Almost instantly, calm washed over her, but she glared up at the chaos god anyway for the principle of the thing. "I'm **_not_** a child," she huffed heatedly.

Loki snorted and patted Brynn's shoulder. "Whatever you say, Dearest," he sniggered. It was at this point his gaze fell down to see the girl's hands in her lap and he noticed the crumpled, white tissue wrapped securely around her left index finger. Silently he took up her hand, unwrapped the tissue, and inspected her ripped hangnail, which was still bleeding a slight bit. Pursing his lips, the man looked pointedly at his charge.

She only smiled sheepishly in response.

" ** _No more picking_** , Brynna May Hagel," Loki softly chastised. "I'll curse your hands to repel each other should you continue to do so."

Brynn snorted in amusement. "I'm **_so_** sure."

"Fine. Don't heed my warning—see what that brings you." While it was a warning, Loki's voice was gentle and almost playful, letting Brynn know that she was right and, if she did receive some sort of correction for picking at her nails and cuticles, it wouldn't be that particular curse. The god gently brushed his thumb over the injured area, quickly healing it.

With a smile, Brynn leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her brother's cheek in thanks.

"Awwww," Thor crooned mockingly. "How adorable!"

Loki's face flushed ever so slightly as he sent a death glare over Brynn's shoulder to the thunder god. "Shut up, Thor," he growled.

That brought another peel of laughter from the Asgardian King.

Loki rolled his eyes, and shifted his gaze away, fighting back the urge to send one of his most horrible curses in his brother's direction. Catching Brynn smirking out of the corner of his eye, he quickly turned his attention to her. "And just what are **_you_** sneering at?" he grumbled with a scowl.

Brynn giggled and teased; "Now you know how it feels to be called 'adorable' by your big brother." She playfully poked at him.

"It's **_your_** fault."

"I know. I'm not sorry."

Loki's glare narrowed, but his thin lips twitched ever so slightly as a smirk of his own threatened to curl them. "Insufferable brat," he hissed.

"Crazy bastard who thinks he's a god," Brynn returned. She leaned forward and kissed him once more.

* * *

One hour passed. Then two. Then three. Still no one came to the little room to summon the Asgardians and the girl or talk to them. No announcement of a verdict came—just long unnerving silence. Thor had long since closed his eyes and managed to drift off in his chair. Brynn was currently lying stretched out over several chairs, her head in Loki's lap, long blonde tresses fanning out as Loki absently combed his nimble fingers through them.

"Wonder what's taking so long," Brynn sighed as she fiddled with her gold 'Princess' necklace that Loki had given her for Christmas. The god wasn't about to let her pick at her fingers again, and she needed something to do with her hands.

"I haven't a clue," Loki responded, gently working his way through a little knot in Brynn's hair.

"I don't like that it's taking so long."

"I know."

"I wanna go home."

"I know."

The girl looked up at the Asgardian. "I wanna go home with **_you_**."

At that Loki's gaze met Brynn's and he caressed her forehead with a thumb. "As do I," he whispered with a gentle smile.

Brynn couldn't help but smile back, seeing her brother's adoration in that look. She loved it when Loki looked at her like that: She hoped he would always be able to look at her like that.

A sudden snort broke the tender moment and caused the pair to turn their attention to the napping thunder god a few chairs down. Thor had nearly toppled forward out of his chair in his sleep, but he'd managed to catch himself before it happened. Still asleep, Thor lifted his head, smacked his lips, and let his head fall back against the wall, his mouth hanging slightly open. He began snoring softly once again.

"I figured he would've been louder than that," Brynn remarked in some amazement. Seriously, with as big as Thor was, how was it possible for that quiet and gentle of a snore to come out of him? He was the frigging God of Thunder! His snoring should have shaken the room!

" ** _Your_** snoring is louder," Loki said in response.

Brynn was about ready snap back that she didn't snore when her phone—which was resting on her stomach since she'd taken it out of her back pocket to lie down—vibrated. Snatching it up, Brynn sat up and read the text. It was from Maddie.

: _Heyo! Saw you guys still weren't home yet, so we went ahead and got all your chores done for you. Also got the party stuff cleaned up and put away. All the goodies we brought over for it we left, so we're coming to your house to fulfill sugar cravings! Everything's good to go at your place! See ya tomorrow!_ :

Brynn smiled. "Well, that's one less thing to have to worry about," she sighed. Even if they were sent home within the next half hour, the fifteen-year-old was certain she would be far too exhausted to do anything besides crawl into bed when she got there. She hadn't done much all day—and nothing physically exerting—but they day had been so emotionally and mentally draining regardless. Brynn suspected she could sleep for a week after this.

The door to the room suddenly burst open, and an armed agent stepped through and stood off to the side of the door. Right behind him came Fury, followed closely by Ms. Smith and Mrs. Willis.

Brynn and Loki immediately stood, instinctively reaching out to hold each other's hand. Thor, who had started awake at the slam of the door, stood up as well, though not quite as quickly and gracefully as the other two. They waited in anticipation.

Fury took his sweet time saying anything. He looked back and forth between Loki and Brynn, looking them up and down more than once, as if trying to decide that whatever decision he'd officially made was the right call. He didn't look mean or cruel, just stern and calculating. Finally he began speaking; "I, along with many other heads and representatives of the United States—including the President—have come to a decision."

Brynn grabbed Loki's hand with both of her own and moved closer to him. She quickly glanced up at his angular face to find it emotionless and impassive, but his tightening of his hand onto her own, told her he was just as anxious as she was. The teen turned back to Fury.

"And just what is it you have decided?" Thor asked a bit darkly. He shifted slightly to somewhat stand in between the S.H.I.E.L.D director and Brynn and Loki, as if trying to shield them in some way. His massive arms were crossed over his barrel of a chest and his gaze was narrowed at Fury.

Fury briefly looked over the thunder god before turning his attention back to the pair in question. "Loki of Asgard," he said, "your request has been accepted. Under the circumstances that you follow the terms and conditions that have been given to you and that you've agreed upon, and realize that, should you violate this agreement in any way, it will all be voided and you will serve sentence, you are free to remain on Earth indefinitely and serve as Ms. Hagel's legal guardian."

Brynn thought her face would tear in half with her grin, if felt so big and wide. The biggest and most immediate rush of relief and peace and pure joy flooded her insides, bringing tears of sheer happiness to her eyes. "Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around Loki. She buried her face in his neck as she started sobbing for joy.

Laughing jubilantly, Thor clapped Loki on the back, nearly toppling both the chaos god and the girl clinging to him over.

Loki numbly wrapped his arms around Brynn, completely dumbfounded by Fury's words. He… he was going home with Brynn. He was going to be her guardian. He was free to go with her and be with her and do as he pleased (within reason). He wasn't going to be taken from her and locked away in some cell forever, never to see her again. He wasn't going to be forced to give her up. Could this be happening? Could this really be happening? Could it really have all gone in his favor, or was this just some sort of dream? "C-Colonel Fury…?"

Fury actually smiled, however slightly. "Congratulations, Loki," he said. "Take your girl home and celebrate. Coulson will take you back whenever you're ready." With that, Fury turned and left the room, Ms. Smith following after him.

Mrs. Willis came to stand beside Loki and Brynn, smiling at them. "Congratulations," she said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Willis," Loki replied sincerely, still in shock. "Thank you." He still couldn't believe it. Something had actually gone his way for once in his life! He couldn't remember the last time that had happened! That numb shock suddenly imploded into unbelievable happiness and Loki found himself grinning from ear to ear and laughing and blinking back tears of happiness as he all but completely crushed Brynn to him. Unable to stand anymore, he took a stumbling step backwards and clumsily plopped down into a chair again, still clutching Brynn. "Oof!"

"You're staying, Loki," Brynn sniffled into his ear. "You're staying!"

"I am," Loki whispered back, sounding rather breathless. His heart was about to burst from his chest and fly off, he was certain of it. Maybe his head would join it with as light as it felt. "I can't believe it…."

* * *

It was after midnight, just a couple hours since Loki and Brynn had arrived back home after their meeting with S.H.I.E.L.D. Everything was quiet and asleep on the farm, or at least, nearly everything. Loki was still very much awake as he sat in bed, studying the document in his hands over and over again. It was a copy of the Terms of Agreement for his probation on Midgard: S.H.I.E.L.D had been sure to supply him with one before he'd left their custody. "A reminder" they'd said. Quite frankly, in his opinion, he didn't need an actual copy of the terms, because looking at Brynn was more than enough to remind him of every rule and regulation he'd agreed to. And she was more than enough incentive to keep him adhered to every single one as well. But they had insisted, so he had accepted one rather than face any sort of repercussions for not doing so.

So here he was, looking over them in black and white and listed order for really the first time. The god sighed heavily. He had no regrets for agreeing to any of these terms, not when it meant his little sister would be allowed into his care; and he didn't disagree that S.H.I.E.L.D had perfectly good reasons for binding him to such a contract; but it was still rather aggravating to know that this was his official rulebook from now on that he would have to follow to the letter. Maybe in future, when he'd proven himself worthy of their trust, S.H.I.E.L.D would become more lenient with the terms, or maybe even get rid of them altogether. But that wouldn't be for a **_long_** time. Such a long time that it probably wouldn't ever happen. Loki would have to learn how to deal with being kept on an incredibly tight leash in the meantime.

" _Just remember the important thing_ ," Loki told himself. " _Always think of Brynn. She's the reason you're doing this. She is what matters._ " The man couldn't help smiling at that thought. Yes, Brynn's security and happiness were what truly mattered in this situation, and as long as she was secure and happy, he was happy. Stifled a bit, maybe, but happy. He couldn't deny that.

"Loki?"

Looking up at the sound of his name, the God of Mischief found the girl in question standing at his door, almost as if she'd been summoned by his thoughts. She was still about half-asleep, yawning and rubbing her heavy-lidded, blue-gray eyes, and was already suffering from a case of bedhead since she hadn't braided her hair back for the night. Loki smiled and chuckled. He always found Brynn exceptionally endearing at times like this, when she was too groggy to be anything other than a sweetheart. Not that she wasn't one most of the time, but she was remarkably so when the edge of her sarcastic wit had been dulled with sleep.

"Well, hello," Loki greeted her. He pretended to look displeased as he added, "And just what are you doing up at this hour?"

"Bathroom," Brynn answered her voice thick with sleep. She yawned largely then, covering her mouth with a hand. "What about you?"

"Oh, nothing really," her guardian answered, slipping the document into its folder and putting it into the drawer of his bedside table. He knew he would have to tell her about the Terms of Agreement sooner than later, because they would affect her as well, but the god had no desire to share and explain them all to the teenager tonight. It was much too late, and Brynn would be in no kind of state to make anything of it all. Not to mention that Loki had no desire to cause her any more stress so soon, since that was all she'd experienced the past twenty-four hours; and the terms **_would_** cause her some stress—he was sure of it. "Just doing some reading."

"Oh," was all Brynn had to mutter. With that, she slowly turned away from Loki's door and lumbered down the hall towards the bathroom like a zombie.

Loki chuckled as he watched after her and then telekinetically pushed his door partially shut again once she had disappeared from sight. Switching off his bedside lamp, he slipped down beneath the covers and sank into the softness of his mattress and pillow, hands folded across his chest. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. It only took a few minutes before the god could begin to feel himself drifting off, fading in and out of consciousness. It really had been an exhausting day.

He was almost asleep when he vaguely heard his blankets rustle and felt the bed shift: That woke him up a bit. He woke up a bit more when he felt something warm and considerably smaller than him slip under his arm and cuddle into his side. Loki cracked his eyes open to see Brynn curled up comfortably next to him, her head and shoulders resting on his chest, her eyes closed. He chuckled. Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled the child closer, tucking her head beneath his chin. "Well hello there, Ms. Cuddlebug," he teased affectionately. "Lovely to see you this evening."

Half-asleep as she was, Brynn smiled, relishing in her brother's closeness. She never felt more safe and secure than when she was in his arms. "I'm all yours," she murmured, nuzzling into his chest.

Loki smiled, his heart swelling with joy and pride at those words. He never knew he could be so happy. "You are," he whispered back. "You most certainly are." Smoothing a hand down her hair and back, the chaos god kissed the child's crown.

"And you're not gonna leave," Brynn stated.

"No," Loki agreed. "I'm not going to leave."

"Never."

"Not ever."

"You're staying."

Loki took one of Brynn's hands into his own and squeezed it. "Until the realms tumble down."


End file.
